Outcomes and safety of adenoidectomy in infants up to 12 months of age compared to older children

Purpose To evaluate the safety and outcomes of adenoidectomy for the treatment of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in infants up to 12 months of age as compared to children ages 13–72 months Methods A retrospective analysis was performed by reviewing the medical records of children who underwent adenoidectomy from 2005 to 2018. The data of older age groups were also collected for comparison. The patients were divided into three groups: up to 12 months (infants), 13–36 months (toddlers) and 37–72 months (preschool). The data were collected from electronic medical records and from a telephone survey based on a modified version of the OSA-18 questionnaire. Postoperative complications, and short and long-term outcomes were compared. Results Twenty-one patients met the inclusion criteria for the main study group (infants). They were compared with forty-four toddlers and thirty-two preschoolers. Among the infants, four (19%) needed additional surgical intervention, none of the toddlers and four (12.5%) preschoolers. There were no differences in subjective outcomes between age groups ( p = 0.365) in the first year after surgery. One year after surgery, outcomes remained similar in all age groups ( p = 0.302) with regard to SDB, but subjective improvements in mouth breathing and nasal discharge were better among the older children ( p = 0.011 and p = 0.012), respectively. Conclusion The outcomes of adenoidectomy for the treatment of SDB in infants up to 12 months of age is similar to children ages 13–72 months.