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Departmental audit of tonsillectomy haemorrhage rates: pitfalls in interpretation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2006

W A Abdel Hamid ,
L M Flood  and
F W Martin
W A Abdel Hamid
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Egypt
L M Flood
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
F W Martin
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
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Abstract

Concerns that a largely anecdotal increase in post tonsillectomy haemorrhage rates was related to the introduction of disposable instruments have prompted much investigation. The result has been, rather, to highlight other variables influencing this risk, but especially to insist on the following:

  1. 1 Training in traditional ‘cold’ techniques.

  2. 2 Regular departmental audit of haemorrhage rates.

  3. 3 Presentation of such data to patients to ensure informed consent.

This audit demonstrates the pitfalls in interpretation of crude data, unadjusted for case-mix, in predicting individual patient risk and in national ranking of unit performance.

Keywords

TonsillectomyHaemorrhageInformed ConsentAudit
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 121 , Issue 3 , March 2007 , pp. 262 - 265
Copyright
2006 JLO (1984) Limited

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