With the cost of health care only ever spiraling up and up, it’s less likely any of us will ever be kept in the hospital following procedures any longer than the hospital feels they can hustle us out the door. Sometimes it’s the patients who want out, sometimes its their insurance company, and sometimes it’s even the hospital or medical staff who want the space and resources freed up for the next patient.
Sometimes that can leave patients open to serious complications. In the case of young children, those below the age of three, new research reveals that even a seemingly simple tonsillectomy can be a risk that opens these infant patients up to the risk of post-discharge complications. In the study that focused on children between the ages of one and six years old, a little more than five percent had post operative complications. Including breathing problems, bleeding, or even dehydration due to difficulty in getting the children to drink. For those children younger than three years of age, they were significantly more likely to have these complications.
The researchers say the data strongly indicates that tonsillectomy should not be conducted as an outpatient procedure, but instead handled with more attention paid to ensuring patients are kept under medical observation following the procedure.
Is your toddler having his or her tonsils out? Make sure the hospital doesn’t do it outpatient. #HealthStatus
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Key Points:
- 1A tonsillectomy is a standard proceedure but the younger the child the more severe the complications can be.
- 2One quarter of complications occur within the first 24 hours after surgery.
- 3Make sure you have all the information you need to transition to homecare.
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