Number of tonsil operations per 1 000 children, 0–15 years
Approximately 5 000 tonsil operations are performed annually on children under 16 years old. The number of operations dropped significantly during the pandemic and only returned to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2023. There is significant geographical variation in the number of operations. Boys are operated on more frequently than girls, and the average age at the time of surgery is slightly lower for boys than for girls.
The proportion of partial tonsil removals (tonsillotomies) has increased from just under 10 % in 2015 to over 40 % after the pandemic. According to the Tonsil Register, one reason for this is that the indication for hypertrophy is used more often for children, and tonsillotomy is considered a safer procedure with fewer postoperative complications.
Children are mainly treated in their own health trust. The significant observed geographical variation over time may indicate overtreatment in some areas and undertreatment in others. However, data from the Tonsil Register for 2023 shows that 92 % were symptom-free 6 months after surgery. The reduction in the rate for the Bergen catchment area from 2022 to 2023 is likely due to a lack of reporting from contracted specialists in 2023.
The analysis is based on data from the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) for specialist healthcare services. The data includes activity in public hospitals, publicly funded private hospitals, and specialists in private practice under public funding contacts.
The sample consists of patients aged 0-15 years registered with a primary or secondary diagnosis of J35.0, J35.1, J35.3, J35.8, J35.9, J36, J39.0, J03.0, J03.8, J03.9, or G47.3 in combination with:
Tonsil operations with only the procedure codes EMB12 or EMB15 and at the same time none of the other procedure codes or fee codes are defined as tonsillotomy. All other tonsil operations are defined as tonsillectomy. Tonsillotomies are also performed by specialists, but since the fee codes K02f and K02g are tonsillectomy/tonsillotomy, it is not possible to distinguish between tonsillectomy and tonsillotomy using the fee codes. K02a and K02e are tonsillectomy.
The place of treatment is divided into three categories:
In order to compare the catchment areas and between years, the rates have been adjusted for gender and age. The adjustment was done using the direct method with the population in 2023 as the reference population.
SKDE is solely responsible for the interpretation and presentation of the data provided by NPR. FHI/NPR is not responsible for analyses or interpretations based on the data.
All of the data used in the charts for this analysis can be downloaded as a CSV file.
