Knowledge on Complications of Recurrent Tonsillitis and its Surgical Management among Parents/Guardian of Paediatric Patients Receiving Services at the Otorhinolaryngology Department at BMC Mwanza Tanzania

Background: Tonsillitis refers to inflammation of the palatine tonsil and most often occurs in children. Recurrent tonsillitis is defined as more than seven attacks within one year, more than five attacks a year within a two-year period, or more than three attacks a year within a three-year period. The global incidence and prevalence of tonsillitis are not completely known, the research indicates that 15-30% of sore throats in children and 5-10% of sore throats in adults are bacterial tonsillitis. Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study with span from May 2024 to August 2024. Results: 385 participants were enrolled in the study; 60.8%of the participants were aged from 21 years to 30 years which was the majority. About 317(82.3%) parents/guardians responded that recurrent tonsillitis has an effect on the child's health, whereas 68 (17.7%) reported that recurrent tonsillitis has no effect on the child's health. Complications of recurrent tonsilitis reported to be known by parent /guardian were snoring (sleep apnoea) 111 (28.8%), ear problems like otitis media 2(0.5%), hearing loss 1(0.3%) heart problem (0.8%), renal problem 3(0.8%), affect the growth of the child 6 (1.6%), missing school 11 (2.9%). 183(47.5%) of the study participants reported that they don’t know about any complications that their child may get after surgery, while other parents/guardians reported that the child can suffer pain after surgery 99(25.7%), intraoperative or postoperative bleeding 3(0.8%) others reported that the child can get pain during eating 8(2.1%)