Original Article

Quality of Life Postchronic Tonsillitis Treatments: An Original Research

Asma Ahmed1, Nivedita2, Sanjay D. Gabhale3,4, Heena Dixit Tiwari5, Praveen Kumar Varma6, Vishal Shrishail Kudagi7,
Suhael Ahmed8

1
Department of ENT and Introduction: The tonsillectomy is a common surgical procedure performed for

Abstract
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HEAD and NECK Surgery,

Government Medical Hospital,
the treatment of chronic tonsillitis (CT). In the present study, we aim to evaluate
Jammu, India, 2Assistant the quality of life (QOL) after CT. Materials and Methods: We conducted a
Professor, Department of retrospective study among 100 tonsillectomy patients whose data were collected
ENT, Chamarajanagara from the department records. The QOL was evaluated using the “Glasgow
Institute of Medical Benefit Inventory.” We assessed various parameters pre‑and post‑surgery. We
Sciences, Chamarajanagara, deliberated P < 0.05 as significant when comparing the pre‑and post‑surgical
Karnataka, India, 3Assistant
Professor, Department of
QOL. Results: We observed that of the 100 subjected selected for the study, there
Respiratory Medicine, Dr was a significant improvement in the QOL and the disease severity variables.
D. Y. Patil Medical College, Conclusions: The tonsillectomy for the treatment of CT among adults has
4
Hospital and Research improved the QOL of the patients. Overall patients’ health conditions and
Centre, Pimpri, Pune, Dr professional life improved after the procedure.
D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth
Pune, Maharashtra, India,
5
Final Year Student, Master
of Public Health, Parul
Univeristy, Limda, Waghodia,
Vadodara, Gujrat, India,
6
Department of Orthodontics,
Vishnu Dental College,
Vishnupur, Bhimavaram,
Andhra Pradesh, India,
7
Department of Orthodontics,
JSS Dental College and
Hospital, Mysore-15,
India, 8Assistant Professor,
Department of Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgery, Riyadh
Elm University, Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Submitted: 04‑Dec‑2021.
Revised: 10‑Dec‑2021.
Accepted: 16‑Dec‑2021.
Published: 13-Jul-2022. Keywords: Chronic tonsillitis, quality of life, tonsillectomy

Introduction tonsillitis is reluctant to the medication and recurs over

T he surgical procedure of the tonsillectomy for

the treatment of chronic tonsillitis (CT) is one of
the common surgical procedures done by surgeons.
three times a year. The disturbance to professional life
should also be taken into consideration when suggesting

The decision to remove the tonsils is dependent Address for correspondence: Dr. Asma Ahmed,
Department of ENT and HEAD and NECK Surgery, Government
on the frequency of the infection and the patient’s Medical Hospital, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
condition.[1‑3] The surgery is often suggested when the E‑mail: asmaahmed074@gmail.com
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How to cite this article: Ahmed A, Nivedita, Gabhale SD, Tiwari HD,
DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_771_21 Varma PK, Kudagi VS, et al. Quality of life postchronic tonsillitis treatments:
An original research. J Pharm Bioall Sci 2022;14:S307-9.

© 2022 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow S307
 Ahmed, et al.: QOL Post chronic Tonsillitis Treatments

the surgical tonsillectomy for the adults. Although the Table 1: Comparison of the pre‑ and post‑treatment
success of this surgical procedure is established for the disease severity variables
children, there is a deficit of the data for the impact Parameters Tonsillectomy (mean±SD) P
of the tonsillectomy on the quality of life (QOL) of Before After
the adults.[4‑6] Hence, in the present study, we aim to Antibiotic 2.1±0.1 1.3±0.11 <0.001
evaluate the QOL after the CT. prescription (months)
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Missed working days 10.0±0.3 0.1±0.21 <0.001

Materials And Methods Doctor visits 4.01±0.22 0.2±0.17 <0.001
SD: Standard deviation
We conducted a retrospective institutional study
among the adult patients who underwent the
tonsillectomy for the CT. We collected the data from Table 2: Comparison of the quality of life
the records after obtaining the ethical clearance and Score Mean±SD P
the patient consent. The patients who had the surgery Final scores +29.02±2.42 <0.001
done between the years 2019 and 2020 were included Subgroups
General health +33.67±1.42 <0.001
in the study. Patients who were >18 years, attended
Social life +13.35±2.02 <0.001
follow‑up for over a year and had only CT were
Physical life +8.47±2.78 <0.001
included in the study. The patients with other medical
SD: Standard deviation
conditions and associated lesions were excluded.
The QOL was estimated using the “Glasgow Benefit
Inventory.”[5] The variables were compared for the Table 3: Comparison of the quality of life and disease
pre‑ and post‑treatment outcomes. The “paired t‑test severity by “Pearson’s correlation coefficient”
and Pearson’s correlation coefficient” were used QOL P
to compare observations deliberating P < 0.05 as Disease severity
significant. Antibiotic Missed Doctor
prescription (months) working days visits
Final scores 0.51 0.024 0.321
Results Subgroups
The mean age observed was 27 ± 1.2 years, with no General health 0.715 0.031 0.248
significant difference in the genders. The mean follow‑up Social life 0.021 0.963 0.653
period was 2.7 ± 0.59 years. We observed that among Physical life 0.95 0.574 0.147
the 100 patients finalized, and we observed a significant QOL: Quality of life
difference for the disease severity variables (pre‑and
post‑treatment) when they were compared by the paired antibiotic usage after surgery which is in concord with
t‑test (P < 0.001) [Table 1]. the study of Mui et al.[7] Our study findings depict the
Similarly, on comparing pre‑and post‑treatment QOL significance of the surgery among the CT patients since
variables, we observed a significant difference [Table 2]. no recurrence was seen during the follow‑up period of
1 year, and better profession and general health were
When the comparison was made between the QOL and
reported.
the diseases severity variables, we observed a significant
correlation for the better social life and the antibiotic, The recall bias of the patients was the main limitation of
final score and the working days, and the general health our study. The second limitation was regarding the QOL
and the working days [Table 3]. measurement, which varies based on the perception of
the subject; hence, the values may be varied.
Discussion
Swelling and the infection of the tonsils are common Conclusions
findings among children. The surgical intervention is The tonsillectomy for the CT among adults has
needed for the recurrent cases among adults also.[1,4,6,7] been shown to improve the QOL of the individual
Since very few studies have evaluated the QOL after while improving general health and professional life.
the tonsillectomy among adults, we have conducted a Further studies with larger samples in a well‑designed
study for the same. We found that there was a significant prospective study are suggested to corroborate our
improvement in general health and a decrease in the findings.
disease severity after the surgery. The QOL significantly
altered for better after the surgery among adults also Financial support and sponsorship
similar to the pediatric cases. We observed a decrease in Nil.

S308 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences ¦ Volume 14 ¦ Supplement 1 ¦ July 2022
 Ahmed, et al.: QOL Post chronic Tonsillitis Treatments

Conflicts of interest 4. Fry TL, Pillsbury HC. The implications of “controlled” studies
of tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Otolaryngol Clin North Am
There are no conflicts of interest. 1987;20:409‑13.
5. Robinson K, Gatehouse S, Browning GG. Measuring patient
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