Improvements in health and behaviour following childhood tonsillectomy: a parental perspective at 1 year

To determine subjective parental impressions following routine tonsillectomy we have interviewed the parents of 80 children 1 year following the procedure. Results show that the procedure carried a 100% parental satisfaction rating. All parents fell their child's symptoms of recurrent acute tonsillitis had improved and over 90% of parents felt their child's general health had improved. Sixty-four percent of the parent population reported a noticeable improvement in their child's sleeping pattern and over 30% described an improvement in their child's general behavior. Although this study reports subjective data, and we do not have a comparable control population, these findings provide an interesting insight into parental impressions regarding alterations in their child's health, sleep pattern and behaviour following this procedure. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.