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Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2000;126:684-686.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Hypothesis

The safest workup for a pediatric tonsillectomy includes determination of hematocrit and platelet levels. Unless family history or personal history is suggestive, no other laboratory tests are required.

BACKGROUND

Striving toward cost-effective medicine while maintaining appropriate standards, the health care profession is calling into question traditional practices and procedures. Each laboratory test or radiographic study is examined in light of its potential efficacy. Statistical data are analyzed to justify such tests if they are being used on a routine basis. One issue that is hotly debated is the preoperative evaluation prior to tonsillectomy in the pediatric population. The stakes are high: approximately 300,000 tonsillectomies/adenoidectomies are performed annually.¹ Although mortality statistics have decreased in the contemporary era of medicine, the morbidity rate remains clinically significant, with the incidence of postoperative bleeding ranging from 2% to 7%.²

Figure appears in full text version. Christopher J. Hartnick, MD

The statistics vary according to how postoperative bleeding is defined in a . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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