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Three-Day Course of Antibiotics Sufficient Following Tonsillectomy in Children CHICAGO -- October 19, 2009 -- Children who receive a 3-day course of antibiotics following tonsillectomy rather than a 7-day course appear to have no differences in pain or how quickly they return to a normal diet and activity level, according to a study published in the October issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Paul E. Johnson, MD, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York, and colleagues studied 49 patients scheduled to undergo tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy. Patients were randomised to receive 7 days of postoperative antibiotics (n = 26) or 3 days of antibiotics followed by 4 days of placebo (n = 23). Parents were asked to record how much pain medication the child took for the first 7 days after surgery, as well as when the child resumed a normal diet and activity level and whether he or she required treatment for bleeding or dehydration. A total of 47 patients (96%) completed the study. No statistically significant difference was observed between the 2 groups in postoperative pain or in the amount of time it took children to resume their normal diet and activity level. One adverse effect from the antibiotics, diarrhoea, was reported in 1 patient in each study group. “A potential disadvantage [of a shorter course of antibiotics], outside of the study measures, would be increased postoperative fever and infection,” the authors wrote. Both patients with this problem, and 1 patient with postoperative bleeding, were in the 7-day antibiotic group. “Based on our results, a 3-day course of antibiotics is as effective as a 7-day course,” the authors wrote. “A shorter course of antibiotics carries other potential advantages, including decreased cost, increased patient compliance with medications, and a decrease in antibiotic-associated complications and bacterial resistance.” SOURCE: Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version