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Evidence-Based Otolaryngology pp 411–446Cite as

Tonsillectomy in Adults

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Abstract

A computerized PubMed search of MEDLINE 1966-February 2005 was performed. The terms “tonsillitis,” “tonsil,” and “tonsillectomy” were searched, and the resulting articles were cross-referenced, yielding 2020 articles. The search was limited to adult data; this yielded 476 articles. The titles or abstracts of these articles were then reviewed to identify those that met the following entry criteria: 1) adults with recurrent pharyngitis, 2) intervention with tonsillectomy, ideally versus nonsurgical treatment, and 3) comparative outcomes of post-treatment symptoms. One randomized controlled trial (RCT) and two retrospective reviews of outcomes after tonsillectomy met these criteria. The bibliographies of these articles and several narrative review articles were manually checked to ensure no further relevant articles could be identified. This process yielded no additional studies. In addition, we reviewed three published systematic reviews [1–3] on, tonsillectomy for recurrent tonsillitis. Those reviews used strict entry criteria and included RCTs only; all reviews reported no appropriate RCTs for adults.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Michael G. Stewart MD (Associate Professor) & Christopher Prichard MD

  2. American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Alexandria, VA, USA

    James Denneny III MD (President)

  3. Harvard Program in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA

    Wade Chien MD

Authors
  1. Michael G. Stewart MD
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  2. Christopher Prichard MD
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  3. James Denneny III MD
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  4. Wade Chien MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Program in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Jennifer J. Shin MD

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Christopher J. Hartnick MD, MSE

  3. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Gregory W. Randolph MD (Pediatric Otolaryngology) (Pediatric Otolaryngology)

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© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Stewart, M.G., Prichard, C., Denneny, J., Chien, W. (2008). Tonsillectomy in Adults. In: Shin, J.J., et al. Evidence-Based Otolaryngology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-49979-6_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-49979-6_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-24447-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-49979-6

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