Tonsil Surgery in Sweden: A National Quality Register (NTSRS)

March 28, 2018 updated by: Joacim Stalfors

The National Tonsil Surgery Register in Sweden

For the purpose of quality assurance, the Swedish Association for Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck surgery has developed several national registers concerning ear, nose and throat care. One of these is the National Tonsil Surgery Registry in Sweden (NTSRS). In NTSRS patients undergoing tonsil surgery for benign indications are included. Data regarding indication, surgical methods and techniques as well as patient reported outcomes measures are collected. The register is designed to facilitate description of clinical activities in a unit and help identify the need of clinical improvement programs. By compiling national data, the register can be used to describe clinical practice in a large national cohort.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

The National Tonsil Surgery Register in Sweden (NTSRS), started in 1997 as one among several registers, aimed to reinforce quality in the Swedish health care and were revised 2009. Data in the NTSRS are collected through four questionnaires; two are filled in by the ENT-surgeon and two postoperative forms, filled in by the patient or the legal guardian, collecting patient related outcome measures (PROM) 30 respective 180 days after surgery.

In the first surgeon questionnaire age, sex, social security number and indication for surgery (upper airway obstruction, recurrent tonsillitis, chronic tonsillitis, peritonsillar abscess, and systemic complications because of tonsillitis or other) are recorded. This is filled in when surgery is notified.

The second surgeon questionnaire records surgical method (TE, TEA, TT or TTA), surgical instruments used for dissection (cold steel, radiofrequency, diathermy scissors, ultracision or other) and hemostasis method used (injection with epinephrine, unipolar diathermy, bipolar diathermy, ties, suture ligature, radiofrequency, other or "none other than compression with packs"). The questionnaire also records information regarding daycare/inpatient procedure and primary postoperative bleeding. Due to the configuration of the questionnaires and the ambition to cover both inpatient and daycare procedures, primary bleeding is defined as bleeding during hospitalization.

The first patient/caregiver form contains several questions mainly regarding postoperative complications. Any contact with healthcare provider due to postoperative bleeding/pain/infection as well as consequences of the contact; prescribed antibiotics and readmission/return to theatre are reported. Conformity between preoperative information and actual patient experience was is also included in this form.

The final questionnaire that is sent to the second patient/caregiver questionnaire asks for perceived symptom relief after 180 days by choosing one alternative of four statements: My symptoms are gone / My symptoms are almost gone / My symptoms have not disappeared/ My symptoms have worsened.

In order to assess coverage for the NTSRS, data has been matched on an individual level with another national register, the National Patient Register (NPR). The NPR is managed by the National Board of Health and Welfare and registration of surgical procedures is mandatory by law for all physicians in Sweden. The coverage of NTSRS for the study period 2012-2014 was 75%, 81.4% and 80.7% respectively

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

11000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All patients undergoing benign tonsil surgery in Sweden

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All patients undergoing benign tonsil surgery in Sweden

Exclusion Criteria:

  • All patients operated with an C- or D0-48 ICD 10 code, indicating not benign diagnoses

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient reported symptom relief
Time Frame: 6 months postoperative report
The final questionnaire that is sent to the second patient/caregiver questionnaire asks for perceived symptom relief after 180 days by choosing one alternative of four statements: My symptoms are gone / My symptoms are almost gone / My symptoms have not disappeared/ My symptoms have worsened.
6 months postoperative report

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient reported postoperative bleeding
Time Frame: 30 days postoperative report
The first patient/caregiver form contains several questions mainly regarding postoperative complications. Any contact with healthcare provider due to postoperative bleeding/pain/infection as well as consequences of the contact; prescribed antibiotics and readmission/return to theatre are reported. Conformity between preoperative information and actual patient experience was is also included in this form.
30 days postoperative report

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2012

Study Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 8, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 11, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

July 12, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 28, 2018

Last Verified

March 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1111 (Prima Psychiatry internal research fund)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All registered data i available online for registrating units.

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Postoperative Complications

Clinical Trials on tonsil surgery with or without concomitant adenoidectomy

Subscribe