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Lookup NU author(s): Angus Lawson, Dr Paola Cognigni, Kim Keltie, Dr Ben Talks, Dr Andrew SimsORCiD, Steven Powell, Dr Michael Mather, Jason PowellORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 The Author(s). Clinical Otolaryngology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Objectives: To examine trends and outcomes for paediatric adenoidectomies in NHS England between 2008 and 2024. Design: Retrospective observational cohort study using Hospital Episode Statistics. Setting: NHS trusts in England. Participants: Children (≤ 16 years) undergoing adenoidectomy. Main Outcome Measures: Adenoidectomies and concurrent procedures performed. In-hospital complications and readmissions within 28 days. All-cause mortality and revision procedures. Results: Between 2008 and 2024, 351 540 adenoidectomies were performed; 305 922 alongside ventilation tube insertion and/or tonsillectomy and 45 618 without these concurrent procedures. In-hospital complications occurred in 4422 admissions (1.3%) and 21 398 patients (6.1%) were readmitted within 28 days. Across all cases, the rate of haemorrhage was 3.4%, while in adenoidectomies occurring in the absence of concurrent ventilation tube insertion and/or tonsillectomy, the overall rate of haemorrhage was 0.7%, and 0.16% cases required return to theatre for surgical arrest of haemorrhage from the adenoid. Over the study period, emergency readmission rates rose from 3.8% to 6.7% while the proportion of day-case procedures increased from 46.3% to 81.1%. For adenoidectomies without concurrent ventilation tube insertion and/or tonsillectomy the rate of emergency admission rose from 2.07% to 2.91%, while adenoidectomies occurring concurrently alongside these procedures rose from 4.61% to 7.52%. The estimated overall revision rate was 4.52% (95% CI 4.44%–4.61%). Conclusions: This study describes key outcomes, providing the basis for accurate preoperative counselling in paediatric adenoidectomy. However, clinical coding does not capture surgical indication or technique, limiting procedure-specific assessment. Improved coding and prospective research are critically needed to examine technique-specific outcomes.
Author(s): Lawson A, Cognigni P, Keltie K, Talks B, Sims A, Powell S, Mather MW, Powell J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Clinical Otolaryngology
Year: 2026
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 12/02/2026
Acceptance date: 19/01/2026
Date deposited: 25/02/2026
ISSN (print): 1749-4478
ISSN (electronic): 1749-4486
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/coa.70095
DOI: 10.1111/coa.70095
Data Access Statement: Hospital Episode Statistics data to reproduce results are available from NHS England's Data Access Request Service (DARS) via formal application process. No additional data were used.
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