Tonsil removal in adults is effective - Newcastle University study

People who had their tonsils removed were found to be 50% less likely to suffer throat infections in the future

Adults who suffer with recurring throat infections can benefit from having their tonsils removed, scientists say.

A Newcastle University study found the operation, known as a tonsillectomy, halved the number of sore throats in patients over a two-year period.

Rates of the once-common operation - which involves cutting out two lumps of lymphoid tissue at the back of the throat - have fallen in recent years.

The findings have been published in the medical journal The Lancet.

James O'Hara, a lecturer at Newcastle University and consultant surgeon at Newcastle Hospitals Trust, said: "Over the last 20 years, the number of tonsillectomies being performed in the UK has halved whilst hospital admissions for complicated tonsillitis have more than doubled."

Current national guidance for the operation requires patients to experience seven episodes of tonsillitis in a year, five per year for two years, or three episodes for three years.

James O'Hara hopes the findings will assure clinicians "that tonsillectomy is effective"

In the study, which involved 450 people and was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), patients who met the guidance either had the operation or were treated with painkillers and antibiotics.

It found those who had the procedure suffered half the number of days with sore throats over the following two years, including the two weeks of discomfort following the operation.

One of them was school teacher Elinor Barwick, who suffered from recurrent severe tonsillitis and often required time off work.

"Every year, each term, about a week in, I would get tonsillitis for about a week which meant I couldn't talk and felt like I had something stuck in my throat," she said.

"Since I have had my tonsils removed, I've not had a day off work due to tonsillitis and my quality of life has very much improved."

Teacher Elinor Barwick, who was the first person recruited to the study, said her "quality of life" had improved

NIHR director Prof Andrew Farmer said the study, believed to be the largest clinical trial carried out into tonsil removal, provided "evidence which could improve health treatments".

Mr O'Hara said he hoped the research would level the referral threshold, with "clinicians assured that tonsillectomy is effective".

He added: "There has been variation across the UK in referrals from primary care for tonsillitis, with some patients having to experience three times the recommended number of episodes before being referred."