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Long‐term effect of adenotonsillectomy on quality of life in pediatric patients

Hypothesis: Adenotonsillectomy improves general and disease‐specific quality of life for properly selected patients suffering for upper airway obstruction secondary to adenotonsillar hypertrophy (UAO) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Study Design: Prospective, nonrandomized questionnaire. Specific Aims: To evaluate quality of life in patients with UAO and OSA using general quality of life instruments as well as disease‐specific instruments. The results will be compared both pre‐ and postoperatively. Methods: Fifty‐five patients aged 2 to 16 with the clinical diagnosis of UAO or OSA were recruited. The caregivers completed Children's Health Questionnaire Parent Form‐28 (CHQPF‐28) and OSA‐18 quality of life measures both pre‐ and postoperatively in the long and short term. Statistical analysis was performed using the unpaired Student t test, P value less than .05, and Spearman Rank coefficient. Results: CHQ‐PF28 scores were improved in the Physical Summary parameter in long‐term follow‐up. Psychosocial scores did not improve significantly. OSA‐18 scores showed improvement in both the short‐and long‐term scores. Physical findings and symptoms did not impact scores in any domain. Conclusions: Quality of life in children with OSA does improve after adenotonsillectomy. Disease‐specific clinometric instruments show improvement in domains affected by the disease process. However, instruments used to assess general quality of life may show physical improvement but not psychosocial.