Decreased clinic visits for acute respiratory infections following an adult tonsillectomy: A population-based study.

PURPOSE

This study attempted to investigate the effects of a tonsillectomy on utilization of medical resources for acute respiratory infections by comparing numbers and costs of clinic visits within 1year before and after a tonsillectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data for this study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study includes 481 patients aged 18-80years who underwent a tonsillectomy and 481 comparison patients. A multivariate regression model employing difference-in-difference was carried out to assess the independent association between a tonsillectomy and the number and costs of clinic visits.

RESULTS

We found that for patients who underwent a tonsillectomy, the mean number of clinic visits for acute respiratory care 1year before and after the index date significantly decreased from 7.3 to 4.2 (p<0.001). However, for the comparison group, there was no significant difference in the number (p=0.540) or costs (p=0.221) of clinic visits for acute respiratory care 1year before and after the index date. A multivariate regression model revealed that a tonsillectomy was associated with a reduction of 3.38 in the mean number of clinic visits for acute respiratory care (p<0.001). In other words, a tonsillectomy reduced by 46.3% (3.38/7.3) the number of clinic visits for acute respiratory care after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and medical comorbidities compared to comparison patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that a tonsillectomy was of substantial benefit to adult patients in that it provides decreased healthcare utilization for acute respiratory infections.