The association between pediatric general emergency department visits and post operative adenotonsillectomy hospital return

Abstract Purpose To define the association between pre-operative general emergency department visits, gender, and pre-operative diagnosis with post-operative emergency department return following adenotonsillectomy. Methods Retrospective chart review of 1468 pediatric patients who underwent adenotonsillectomy at a tertiary pediatric hospital between 2011 and 2013. Results There was a significant relationship between patients who visited the ED pre-operatively, 25% ( N = 96) returned to the ED post-procedure, compared to 10% who did not have a pre-operative ED visit. There was an overall significant relation between having a pre-operative visit ( χ2 = 53.6, df = 1, p < 0.001), female gender (female = 56.9%; male = 43.1%; χ2 = 4.2, df = 1, p = 0.04), and having a preoperative diagnosis of recurrent strep tonsillitis (OSA and RST = 18%; RST = 17.5%; OSA = 11.8%; χ2 = 12.8, p = 0.002) and having a post-operative ED visit. Conclusion Generalized pre-operative visits along with gender and diagnosis of recurrent streptococcal tonsillitis were found to be positively associated with post-operative ED visits for common post-operative complaints.