Is there an increasing accumulation of secondary tonsillectomy in Germany?

Background Data from Swedish National Registry for Tonsil Surgery has shown, that there is a proven connection between tonsillotomy and the risk of secondary tonsillectomy (STE). But also aside from this data in daily clinical practice residual tonsil tissue was an occasional indication for STE. The purpose of this retrospective longitudinal study is to identify the prevalence of STE in Germany using special analyses of the Federal Statistics Office.

Material and Methods The STE has been identified using the OPS-Code 5-281.4 and the prevalence for men and woman between 2005 and 2018 was detected. The data was stratified according to year, age group and gender.

Results In total 11018 patients received secondary tonsillectomies between 2005 and 2018 in Germany. These were mainly female patients (56 %). The total number in each year had continuously decreased from 1080 in 2005 to 483 in 2018 (45 %). No significant difference was seen between female and male patients. In male patients the number of cases reduced from 473 to 224 (47,36 %) and in female patients from 607 to 259 (42,67 %).

The typical patient age was between 25 and 45 years. The highest proportion of male patients was found in the youngest ones (62 % <5 Jahre) and in the 40-50-year-olds (51 %).

Conclusion The number of STE decreased continuously year after year without any deviations during the period examined. Upon the condition that the OPS-Code 5-281.4 includes secondary tonsillectomies after primary tonsillectomy and after tonsillotomy, this does not support the hypothesis, that there is any correlation between the rising prevalence of tonsillotomy and STE.

Poster-PDF A-1455.PDF

Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020