Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-8v9h9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-29T02:23:22.908Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

(Ton)silly seasons? Do atmospheric conditions actually affect post-tonsillectomy secondary haemorrhage rates?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2015

B Cadd ,
M Rogers ,
H Patel  and
G Crossland
B Cadd*
Affiliation:
Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Darwin Hospital, Tiwi, Northern Territory, Australia
M Rogers
Affiliation:
Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Darwin Hospital, Tiwi, Northern Territory, Australia
H Patel
Affiliation:
Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Darwin Hospital, Tiwi, Northern Territory, Australia
G Crossland
Affiliation:
Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Darwin Hospital, Tiwi, Northern Territory, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Brandon Cadd, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Darwin Hospital, Registry Box 169, Tiwi 0811, Northern Territory, Australia E-mail: brandoncadd@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Tonsillectomy is a common procedure, with potentially life-threatening complications. Previous investigations into post-tonsillectomy secondary haemorrhage rates suggest an influence of climactic and atmospheric conditions on haemorrhage rate, particularly temperature and water vapour pressure. With a single emergency department and a large variance in atmospheric conditions, Darwin, Australia, is ideal for investigating the effects of local climate on rates of post-operative haemorrhage.

Methods:

A five-year retrospective review was conducted of all tonsillectomy procedures performed between 2008 and 2013. Effects of atmospheric variables were examined using Pearson's correlation coefficient and analysis of variance.

Results:

A total of 941 patients underwent tonsillectomy in the study period. The bleeding rate was 7.7 per cent. No variation was found between wet and dry season tonsillectomies (p = 0.4). Temperature (p = 0.74), water vapour pressure (p = 0.94) and humidity (p = 0.66) had no effect on bleeding.

Conclusion:

The findings revealed no correlation between humidity, season, water vapour pressure and haemorrhage rates. Further research should use multi-site data to investigate the effect of air conditioning, humidification and climactic conditions between different regions in Australia.

Keywords

TonsillectomyHemorrhageVapor PressureAustraliaEmergency ServiceHospitalHumansHumidityHydrostatic PressureOtolaryngologySeasonsTemperature

Information

Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 129 , Issue 7 , July 2015 , pp. 702 - 705
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

1Blair, RL, McKerrow, WS, Carter, NW, Fenton, A.The Scottish tonsillectomy audit. Audit Sub-Committee of the Scottish Otolaryngological Society. J Laryngol Otol 1996;110(suppl 20):1–25CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Kumar, R.Secondary haemorrhage following tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. J Laryngol Otol 1984;98:997–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Roberts, C, Jayaramachandran, S, Raine, CH.A prospective study of factors which may predispose to post-operative tonsillar fossa haemorrhage. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 1992;17:13–17CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Collison, PJ, Mettler, B.Factors associated with post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. Ear Nose Throat J 2000;79:640–2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Carmody, D, Vamadevan, T, Cooper, SM.Post tonsillectomy haemorrhage. J Laryngol Otol 1982;96:635–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Lee, MS, Montague, ML, Hussain, SS.The influence of weather on the frequency of secondary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage. J Laryngol Otol 2005;119:894–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Dubs, R, Primault, B.Meteorological observations concerning haemorrhages after tonsillectomy [in German]. Laryngol Rhinol Otol (Stuttg) 1975;54:755–61Google ScholarPubMed
8Perrone, B, Ventura, R.A case of probable meteoropathological, late recurrent tonsillar hemorrhage [in Italian]. Ann Laringol Otol Rinol Faringol 1976;75:269–73Google ScholarPubMed
9Sowerby, LJ, DeSerres, JJ, Rudmik, L, Wright, ED.Role of season, temperature and humidity on the incidence of epistaxis in Alberta, Canada. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2014;43:10CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Danielides, V, Kontogiannis, N, Bartzokas, A, Lolis, CJ, Skevas, A.The influence of meteorological factors on the frequency of epistaxis. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 2002;27:84–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Pallin, DJ, Chng, Y, McKay, MP, Emond, JA, Pelletier, AJ, Camargo, CA Jr.Epidemiology of epistaxis in US emergency departments, 1992 to 2001. Ann Emerg Med 2005;46:77–81CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Prasad, BK.ENT morbidity at high altitude. J Laryngol Otol 2011;125:188–92CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Egan, P.Kilimanjaro, epistaxis and all that. Med J Aust 1990;152:318–19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Jeong, TS, Park, CW, Yoo, CJ, Kim, EY, Kim, YB, Kim, WK. Association between the daily temperature range and occurrence of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. J Cerebrovasc Endovasc Neurosurg 2013;15:152–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Neidert, MC, Sprenger, M, Wernli, H, Burkhardt, JK, Krayenbühl, N, Bozinov, O et al. Meteorological influences on the incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage - a single center study of 511 patients. PLoS One 2013;8:e81621CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Nasiri, R, Ahmadi, Shadmehri A, Khajeh, Ghiassi P, Sarafraz, Yazdi M, Mazloum, Farsi Baf M.Association of meteorological factors and seasonality with preeclampsia: a 5-year study in northeast of Iran. Clin Exp Hypertens 2014;36:586–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Abrignani, MG, Corrao, S, Biondo, GB, Lombardo, RM, Di, Girolamo P, Braschi, A et al. Effects of ambient temperature, humidity, and other meteorological variables on hospital admissions for angina pectoris. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2012;19:342–8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Lloyd-Faulconbridge, RV, Fowler, S, Horrocks, J, Topham, JH. Comparative audit of tonsillectomy. Clin Otolaryngol 2000;25:110–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Tomkinson, A, Harrison, W, Owens, D, Harris, S, McClure, V, Temple, M.Risk factors for postoperative hemorrhage following tonsillectomy. Laryngoscope 2011;121:279–88CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Nahrwold, ML, Archer, P, Cohen, PJ.Application of the Antoine equation to anesthetic vapor pressure data. Anesth Analg 1973;52:866–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed