Bleeding after tonsillectomy: search for additional risk factors

Introduction. Currently, the most common method of surgical treatment of patients suffering from chronic decompensated tonsillitis is bilateral extracapsular tonsillectomy (ТЕ). The most dangerous and common complication of this surgical method is postoperative bleeding from the area of the surgical wound, leading to repeated medical treatment and the development of hemodynamic disorders. The frequency of postoperative bleeding after TE is estimated by the authors in a different range depending on the research methodology and can reach 21.8% Aim. To search for additional factors determining the frequency and timing of bleeding after bilateral tonsillectomy performed for chronic decompensated tonsillitis. Materials and methods . The study was conducted in the format of a retrospective cohort analysis (over 3 years) with the participation of 51 patients, as well as two control groups: a group of patients who underwent bilateral tonsillectomy (404 patients), and a group of patients with nosebleeds of various etiologies (1548 patients). The article presents generalized data on the timing of bleeding, indicators of blood loss, gender and age composition of patients and other parameters. Results. The inverse dependence of bleeding time on age and body mass index (p < 0.05) was revealed, a direct dependence on the number of tonsillectomies performed, the same distribution of bleeding frequencies after tonsillectomies and nosebleeds over the observed period, as well as a significant association of the frequency of nosebleeds with various atmospheric and geophysical phenomena (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Summarizing the data from several centers where bleeding after TE was recorded by increasing the study sample may help identify additional risk factors for the development of this complication.