Does suturing tonsil pillars post-tonsillectomy reduce postoperative hemorrhage?: A literature review

Preoperative thromboelastography in the prediction of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage by coblation tonsillectomy: a post-hoc analysis

BACKGROUND

Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH) affects around 4% of patients after tonsillectomy. We hypothesized that preoperative thromboelastography (TEG) might identify patients at higher risk of PTH.

OBJECTIVE

Investigate whether evaluation of coagulation function by preoperative TEG might help to predict PTH after tonsillectomy by coblation tonsillectomy (TE).

DESIGN

Post-hoc analysis of randomized controlled study.

SETTING

Otolaryngology Department between January 2017 and August 2019.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This post-hoc analysis included adults who underwent coblation TE for benign tonsillar disorders. Routine blood tests and TEG were performed preoperatively. The TEG parameters evaluated included coagulation reaction time (R) and maximum thrombus amplitude (MA).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome was PTH during the 4-week postoperative period.

SAMPLE SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS

284 RESULTS: The 19 patients (6.7%) that experienced PTH had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, lower use of intraoperative suturing, fewer patients with grade I and II tonsillar enlargement, a higher white blood cell count, lower platelet count, lower fibrinogen level, lower R value, and a lower MA value than patients without PTH (all P<.05). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that diabetes mellitus (P<.053), fibrinogen level ≤2.735 g/L (P<.027), R≤6.55 min (P<.011) and MA≤59.15 mm (P<.012) were independently associated with PTH. A regression model incorporating these four factors predicted PTH with a sensitivity of 73.7% and specificity of 83.8%.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative evaluation of diabetes mellitus history, fibrinogen level, and TEG parameters might help to identify patients at higher risk of PTH after coblation TE.

LIMITATIONS

Single-center study with a small sample size; possibly underpowered statistically. TEG measurements might not accurately reflect coagulation function, and a validation cohort was unavailable.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

None. CHINESE CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NUMBER OF STUDY USED IN THIS ANALYSIS: ChiCTR2000032171. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=52553.

Can intraoperative suturing reduce the incidence of posttonsillectomy hemorrhage? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

This study was to compare tonsillectomy with intraoperative suturing (TIS) and tonsillectomy without intraoperative suturing (TsIS) in preventing postoperative tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH).

Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was followed. Articles compare TIS and TsIS in preventing PTH were included. The quality of eligible studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) by two independent investigators. Random effect models were used to determine odds ratio (OR) with 95% CIs.

Results

A total of 15 studies were analyzed. The pooled results showed the PTH rate was lower in the TIS group (OR = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47-0.88). The TIS group had a lower primary and secondary PTH rate than the TsIS group with OR values of 0.44 (95% CI, 0.30-0.64) and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.54-0.90), respectively. However, suturing did not show an advantage in reducing the risk of returning to the operation room for hemostasis (OR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.13-2.47). Adults might benefit from the intraoperative suturing procedure (OR = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.16-0.60). Patients with more than three stitches on each side had a lower PTH rate (OR: 0.44; 95% CI, 0.32-0.60). Suturing the tonsillar fossa and pillars simultaneously could reduce the PTH rate (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.34-0.64).

Conclusions

Intraoperative suturing is a good strategy for preventing PTH. More multicenter randomized controlled studies should be conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of this procedure.

Level of Evidence

5.

Comparative systematic review and meta-analysis of the therapeutic effects of coblation tonsillectomy versus electrocautery tonsillectomy

BACKGROUND

Surgical removal of the primary lesion is a common treatment for chronic tonsillitis, recurrent tonsillitis, and tonsillar hypertrophy, and is the most widely performed surgery in otorhinolaryngology. With the development and progress of medical science and technology, the methods of tonsillectomy have gradually diversified, and it is of great significance to seek the best tonsillectomy method. This meta-analysis explored the advantages and disadvantages of coblation tonsillectomy (CT) and electrocautery tonsillectomy (ET).

METHODS

The keywords "coblation", "radiofrequency ablation", "electrocautery", and "tonsillectomy" were used to search the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar databases, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the 2 procedures since the establishment of the database were included. After screening and bias risk assessment, a meta-analysis was performed using Stata 16.0 software.

RESULTS

A total of 10 articles met the inclusion criteria and entered the final meta-analysis. There were 1,056 participants, including 547 patients who underwent CT and 509 patients who underwent ET. There was no significant difference in the operation time between CT and ET [standard mean difference (SMD) =0.39, 95% CI: -0.35 to 1.13, Z=1.044, P=0.296]. CT resulted in less intraoperative blood loss than ET (SMD =-2.62, 95% CI: -4.83 to -0.41, Z=-2.322, P=0.020). The postoperative pain score of CT was less than ET, but the difference was not statistically significant (SMD =-0.28, 95% CI: -0.58 to 0.01, Z=-1.866, P=0.062). CT resulted in less time to return to normal diet after surgery than ET, and the difference was statistically significant (SMD =-0.36, 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.12, Z=-2.918, P=0.004).

DISCUSSION

CT resulted in less intraoperative blood loss and faster postoperative recovery than ET, but there was no significant difference in operation time, postoperative pain, and the incidence rate of postoperative complications between the 2 groups.

Postoperative hemorrhage following coblation tonsillectomy with and without suture: A randomized study in Chinese adults

PURPOSE

Coblation tonsillectomy (TE) increases gradually in China. Hemorrhage is the main complication after tonsillectomy. The conclusions of the studies about suture after tonsillectomy are conflicting. To compare the post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH) rates in patients who underwent coblation with vs. without suture.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a randomized controlled study of adult patients who underwent coblation TE at our hospital between 01/2017 and 08/2019. The patients were randomized to TE with or without suture. The primary endpoint was the secondary PTH. The secondary endpoints included the primary PTH, grade of PTH, and incidence of PTH within 4 weeks post-TE.

RESULTS

There were no differences between the two groups regarding sex, age, disease course, and BMI (all P > 0.05). The occurrence of secondary PTH was lower in the suture group compared with the non-suture group (2.8% vs. 7.7%, P = 0.016). Compared with non-suture group, the incidence of PTH within 4 weeks (2.8% vs. 10.6%, P = 0.009) and the PTH degree (P = 0.02) were all significantly lower in the suture group.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative suture reduces the secondary PTH in adult patients who underwent coblation tonsillectomy. The incidence of PTH within 4 weeks, PTH degree and pain might all improved for intraoperative suture.