Choosing Wisely Canada - pediatric otolaryngology recommendations

The Choosing Wisely Canada campaign raises awareness amongst physicians and patients regarding unnecessary or inappropriate tests and treatments. Using an online survey, members of the Pediatric Otolaryngology Subspecialty Group within the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery developed a list of nine evidence based recommendations to help physicians and patients make treatment decisions regarding common pediatric otolaryngology presentations: (1) Don’t routinely order a plain film x-ray in the evaluation of nasal fractures; (2) Don’t order imaging to distinguish acute bacterial sinusitis from an upper respiratory infection; (3) Don’t place tympanostomy tubes in most children for a single episode of otitis media with effusion of less than 3 months duration; (4) Don’t routinely prescribe intranasal/systemic steroids, antihistamines or decongestants for children with uncomplicated otitis media with effusion; (5) Don’t prescribe oral antibiotics for children with uncomplicated tympanostomy tube otorrhea or uncomplicated acute otitis externa; (6) Don’t prescribe codeine for post-tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy pain relief in children; (7) Don’t administer perioperative antibiotics for elective tonsillectomy in children; (8) Don’t perform tonsillectomy for children with uncomplicated recurrent throat infections if there have been fewer than 7 episodes in the past year, 5 episodes in each of the past 2 years, or 3 episodes in each of the last 3 years; and (9) Don’t perform endoscopic sinus surgery for uncomplicated pediatric chronic rhinosinusitis prior to failure of maximal medical therapy and adenoidectomy.

Quality indicators for the diagnosis and management of pediatric tonsillitis

INTRODUCTION

Pediatric tonsillitis is encountered frequently across specialties, and while high quality guidelines exist, there is persistent evidence of care which is not evidence based, including antibiotic overprescribing and surgical practice variability. Quality indicators (QIs) can be utilized for initiatives to improve the quality of care and subsequent patient outcomes. We sought to develop pediatric tonsillitis QIs that are applicable across specialties and that cover aspects of both diagnosis and the spectrum of management options.

METHODS

A guideline-based approach to QI development was employed. Candidate indicators (CIs) were extracted from international guidelines deemed high quality by two reviewers and evaluated by an eleven-member expert panel consisting of otolaryngology - head & neck surgeons, a pediatrician and a family physician. The final QIs were selected utilizing a modified RAND/UCLA appropriateness methodology.

RESULTS

Twenty-six CIs were identified after initial literature review. After the first round of evaluations, the panel agreed on thirteen candidate indicators as appropriate QIs. A subsequent expert panel meeting provided a platform to discuss areas of disagreement, discuss any recently published research, and to brainstorm additional CIs not identified from the guideline extraction. Following the second round of evaluations, the expert panel agreed upon sixteen QIs as appropriate measures of high-quality care.

CONCLUSIONS

This study proposes sixteen QIs developed through a multidisciplinary lens to guide practitioners in the diagnosis and management of pediatric tonsillitis. These QIs can be used to improve transparency, accountability, and provide objective data to assist future quality improvement initiatives.

0908 The Impact Of Adenotonsillectomy On Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Children With Trisomy 21: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Introduction

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has a prevalence of 1 - 5.7% in the general pediatric population. In children with Trisomy 21 (T21), OSA is estimated to be much higher, at 30-60%. The medical consequences of untreated OSA may be significant, therefore it is worthwhile to explore treatment options. Adenotonsillectomy (AT) is often the first line treatment in children, including those with T21. However, success rates of AT in patients with T21 is more variable, and postoperative complications can be higher. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of AT on the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) in patients with Trisomy 21.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted by reviewing children with T21 and the following criteria: 1) 0 to 18 years of age, 2) AT completed between January 2010 to December 2015, 3) pre- and post-operative polysomnogram (PSG). Data extraction included demographics, details of PSG both prior to and after surgery including severity of sleep apnea and oxygen levels, type of surgery, and surgical complications.

Results

Our sample consisted of 64 subjects. Mean pre-operative AHI was 32.2, while mean post-operative AHI was 8.0, for a difference of 21.7 (p = 0.0001). Mean pre-operative oxygen saturation was 92.5, while mean post-operative oxygen saturation was 93.7, for a difference of 1.2 (p = 0.01). There were 10 post-operative emergency room visits (15.3%), 2 admissions to hospital (3.1%) and 2 repeat surgeries for post-operative bleeding (3.1%).

Conclusion

Preliminary findings of this study show a statistically significant improvement in OSA severity as determined by change in AHI and mean oxygen saturations post AT in children with T21. Complication rates were low. Further data collection and analysis is underway.

Support

None.

Overnight oximetry in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy: a single center experience

Background

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common indication for adenotonsillectomy in children. Home-based sleep oximetry continues to be used in the diagnosis of pediatric OSA despite a lack of correlation with lab-based polysomnography. This study investigates whether factors influence surgeons in selecting patients for home-based sleep oximetry, how the study findings are used in patient management, and whether abnormal oximetry findings are associated with post-operative complications.

Methods

A retrospective review was performed on children with suspected OSA who had undergone a tonsillectomy and/or an adenoidectomy over a three-year period. Demographic features, comorbidities, pre-operative oximetry results, and post-operative complications were recorded. Data analysis consisting primarily of logistic regression was performed using Stata 12.0 (College Station, Texas).

Results

Data was collected from 389 children. Two hundred and seventy-one children underwent pre-operative oximetry (69.7%). There was no significant association between age or the presence of comorbidities and the likelihood of undergoing pre-operative sleep oximetry. The post-operative complication rate was 0.8%. There was no significant association between abnormal sleep oximetry parameters and post-operative complications. Children with one or more abnormal sleep oximetry parameters were more likely to be observed in hospital for at least one night (OR 2.4, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Our study suggests that surgeons are using home-based sleep oximetry findings to inform the post-operative care of children with suspected OSA, as those with abnormal home-based sleep oximetry findings were more likely to be observed in hospital. These hospital admissions may be unnecessary given the poor correlation of home-based oximetry and PSG as well as the low rate of serious post-operative complications.