ABSTRACT Objectives To examine trends and outcomes for paediatric adenoidectomies in NHS England between 2008 and 2024. Design Retrospective observational cohort study using Hospital Episode Statistics. Setting NHS trusts in England. Participants Children (≤ 16 years) undergoing adenoidectomy. Main Outcome Measures Adenoidectomies and concurrent procedures performed. In‐hospital complications and readmissions within 28 days. All‐cause mortality and revision procedures. Results Between 2008 and 2024, 351 540 adenoidectomies were performed; 305 922 alongside ventilation tube insertion and/or tonsillectomy and 45 618 without these concurrent procedures. In‐hospital complications occurred in 4422 admissions (1.3%) and 21 398 patients (6.1%) were readmitted within 28 days. Across all cases, the rate of haemorrhage was 3.4%, while in adenoidectomies occurring in the absence of concurrent ventilation tube insertion and/or tonsillectomy, the overall rate of haemorrhage was 0.7%, and 0.16% cases required return to theatre for surgical arrest of haemorrhage from the adenoid. Over the study period, emergency readmission rates rose from 3.8% to 6.7% while the proportion of day‐case procedures increased from 46.3% to 81.1%. For adenoidectomies without concurrent ventilation tube insertion and/or tonsillectomy the rate of emergency admission rose from 2.07% to 2.91%, while adenoidectomies occurring concurrently alongside these procedures rose from 4.61% to 7.52%. The estimated overall revision rate was 4.52% (95% CI 4.44%–4.61%). Conclusions This study describes key outcomes, providing the basis for accurate preoperative counselling in paediatric adenoidectomy. However, clinical coding does not capture surgical indication or technique, limiting procedure‐specific assessment. Improved coding and prospective research are critically needed to examine technique‐specific outcomes.
Lawson et al. (Thu,) studied this question.