Post Tonsillectomy Bleeding among Children in a Tertiary Hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain: Two Years Experience

Background: Palatine tonsils are part of the immune system located within the Waldeyer’s ring, they are prone to infections, hypertrophy or both. These conditions are known as tonsil diseases that usually require surgical removal through tonsillectomy. Tonsillectomy is one of the most common procedures done for children but it is challenged by the occurrence of complications, especially post tonsillectomy bleeding (PTB). In the current study, the incidence of post tonsillectomy bleeding in children younger than 14 years undergoing tonsillectomy in Salmaniya Medical Complex is evaluated and their demographic data and risk factors are assessed. Method: Pediatric patients who are younger than 14 years with postoperative tonsillectomy bleeding that were treated in Salmaniya Medical Complex between the period of January 2018 and December 2019 were retrospectively studied for risk factors. Results: A total of 1161 patients within the age range of 2 - 13 years old underwent tonsillectomy in Salmaniya Medical Complex from the period of January 2018 to December 2019. Twenty-eight pediatric patients had post-tonsillectomy bleeding (PTB) during the study period with an incidence of 2.4% of the total number of pediatric tonsillectomies done in our institute. The majority were male patients and the mean age was 6.2 years. The main indication of tonsillectomy for those with bleeding was recurrent tonsillitis. A second surgery was needed in 64.5% to control the bleeding. The size of the tonsil, the level of the surgeon and the season at which the tonsillectomy was done did not seem to have any effect on the incidence of post-tonsillectomy bleeding (PTB). Conclusion: The incidence of post tonsillectomy bleeding (PTB) in Salmaniya Medical Complex is 2.4%, which makes it a common complication for a common surgery irrelevant to any patient, surgeon or climate related factors.

Clinical Variants, Rates of Post-Operative Recurrence and Malignant Transformation of Sino-Nasal Inverted Papilloma

Background: Inverted Papilloma (IP) is the most common benign neoplasms arising from the mucosal lining of the of the Sino-Nasal tract with single or multifocal attachment sites. The high propensity to recur, local aggressive behavior and possibility of malignant transformation attract considerable interest. Objective: To assess the factors affecting Sino-nasal IP, malignant transformation rate, and post-operative recurrence rate. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on all cases diagnosed as Sino-Nasal Papilloma between January 2010 and December 2020 at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain. Data gathered from medical records were analyzed using SPSS. A total of 49 Sino-Nasal Papilloma cases were recorded of which 37 were IP. Factors affecting Sino-Nasal IPs are presented. Results: Sino-Nasal IP was recorded in 37 cases, composed of 28 males and 9 females with first presentation average age of 45.86 years. These involved 20 cases in the left side, 14 in the right side and 3 were bilateral. Recurrence in males and females was found to be 35.7% and 33%, respectively, with an average of 12.6 months. The symptoms include nasal blockage (97.3%), epistaxis and postnasal drip (13.5% each), headache (8.1%) and hyposmia and rhinorrhea (5.4%, each). The main recurrence was at stage T2 (60.5%), while in smokers (26.7%) and non-smokers (50%). Malignant transformation occurred in one patient only (2.6%). Conclusion: IP is the most common type of SNP with male predominance. The recurrence rate is high with an average of a year and the malignant transformation occurred in 2.6 % of the cases.

Evaluation of Preoperative Fine Needle Aspiration Accuracy in Diagnosis of Malignant Parotid Tumors

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in detecting malignant parotid tumors. Design: A retrospective study of cases series. Setting: Salmaniya Medical Complex, Otorhinolaryngology Department, Kingdom of Bahrain. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out, between January 2009 and December 2018, for all patients diagnosed with parotid tumors at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. Data collection was made from medical records, I-seha and laboratory information system (LIS). 87 patients underwent parotidectomy, of which 30 were excluded due to unsatisfactory diagnoses or missing data. The results of fine needle aspirations were analyzed and compared with the corresponding histopathologic diagnosis. Estimation of sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value and accuracy of FNA were calculated. Results: Among the 57 evaluated cases, four cases were further excluded from the final analysis due to unsatisfactory FNA results, therefore only 53 cases remained. The mean age of patients was 48.6 ± 17.2 years. A concordance with histopathology results was observed. 47 cases were diagnosed as benign and five cases were malignant, however, 1 case was diagnosed as malignant by FNA, but not in histopathology. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 98.1% and the prevalence of parotid malignancy was 9.4%. Sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 97.9%, respectively. Positive predictive value was 83.3% while negative predictive value was 100%. Conclusion: Fine needle aspiration is a highly sensitive and specific test in evaluating malignant parotid gland tumors. It is useful and accurate, especially when used hand by hand with the clinical assessment and radiological findings.