AN AUDIT OF PROPHYLACTIC ANTIBIOTIC-TREATMENT FOLLOWING TONSILLECTOMYIN CHILDREN

A prospective audit study was undertaken to assess the effect of two d ifferent management policies following tonsillectomy in children in th is hospital, one of which requires a prophylactic five-day course of o ral antibiotics and the other does not. A total of 95 children were en tered into the trial: 54 received post-operative antibiotics and 41 di d not. The post-operative recovery was assessed by completion of a par ent questionnaire which included the following parameters: degree of p atient distress, nausea and vomiting, otalgia, halitosis, pharyngeal b leeding, analgesic requirement, day of return to a regular diet and Ge neral Practitioner consultation. There was no significant reduction in any of the morbidity measures in patients treated with antibiotics. I n fact, the analgesic requirement and the incidence of otalgia and irr itability on Days 6 and 7 and secondary haemorrhage were significantly higher in the antibiotic-treated patients. Although the number of pat ients included in this study are small, the results suggest that post- operative antibiotics do not improve the outcome of uncomplicated tons illectomy. Our previous practice of routinely administering antibiotic s to post-tonsillectomy children has been discontinued as the conseque nce of this audit.