Reasons for tonsillectomies are changing

Rochester, Minn. -- A U.S. study suggests tonsillectomies are increasingly being performed to treat airway obstructions as opposed to tonsil infections.

"This research shows that obstructive airway problems causing sleep-disordered breathing are now the primary reason children and young adults are having their tonsils and adenoids removed," said Mayo Clinic Medical School student Britt Erickson, who led the study. "This shift demonstrates that there is an increase in recognition of obstructive airway problems in children and young adults.

"This could mean that either the problem of sleep disorders is increasing, or that this problem has been here all along and only now is recognized," Erickson added.

The researchers -- using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project of Olmsted County, Minn. -- examined medical records of 8,106 patients and discovered surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids occurred more than twice as often in 2000 to 2005 compared with 1970 to 1975.

The study, which included Dr. Laura Orvidas and researchers Dirk Larson, Jennifer St. Sauver, Ryan Meverden and Melissa Westergren was to be presented Tuesday in Washington at the American Academ of Otolaryngology.

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Copyright 2007 by United Press International.