The impact of adenotonsillectomy on asthma in children.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of adenotonsillectomy on asthma in the pediatric population. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective chart review. METHODS All children who underwent adenotonsillectomy at our institution from 2002-2007 were identified from a medical records database. Of the 560 charts reviewed, 93 of the patients had the diagnosis of asthma from a pediatric pulmonologist. Outcome measures of asthma control were analyzed one year preoperatively and one year postoperatively and included: hospital visits, systemic steroid use, asthma medication use, and asthma control test scores. RESULTS There was a statistically significant improvement in postoperative asthma severity in all measures including mean hospital visits, systemic steroid administration, asthma medication use, and childhood asthma control test scores (p<0.01). CONCLUSION This study suggests that adenotonsillectomy, which provides improvement in the upper airway of children, may in turn lead to improvement of the lower airways of children, especially those with bronchial asthma.