Revisits after adenotonsillectomy in children with sleep-disordered breathing: A retrospective single-institution study

Objective: To investigate emergency room (ER) revisits and hospital readmissions following adenotonsillectomy (T& A) in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and correlations between SDB severity and ER revisits. Design: Retrospective chart review study. Setting: Tertiary referral centre. Participant: 610 consecutive children underwent T& A for treating SDB. Main outcome measures: Sleep-disordered breathing severity was defined according to the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) (primary snoring = AHI < 1; mild = AHI 15; moderate = AHI 5-10; and severe = AHI > 10). Revisit and readmission patterns within 30 days of the surgery were extracted and analysed. Results: Of these children (mean age = 7.2 years; males = 72%), 49 (8.0%) had first ER revisit, nine (1.5%) had second ER revisits, and one (0.2%) had third ER revisits. Reasons for ER revisits were bleeding related (46%) or non-bleeding related (54%). The timing for revisits was 6.9 +/- 1.9 postoperative days for bleeding-related revisits and 9.3 +/- 10.0 days for non-bleeding-related revisits. Treatment strategies during these revisits were treat and release in 44 children (74.6%), admission for observation in eight children (13.5%), and admission for surgery in seven children (11.9%). The incidence of ER revisit and hospital readmission was similar among children with all levels of SDB severity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that young children (< 3 years) experienced an increased risk of non-bleeding-related revisits (odds ratio [ OR] = 4.1). Conclusions: Children with severe SDB do not experience increased risks of revisit or readmission; however, young children are at increased risk of non-bleedingrelated revisits.