Children with asthma who have their tonsils and adenoids removed have fewer symptoms of the lung condition, a new study shows.
Researchers from Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland followed 105 children with asthma — aged 7-21 years — who were being treated for sleep apnea.
Twenty-four of the patients required removal of their tonsils and adenoids. After the surgeries, researchers noted significant reductions in their asthmatic symptoms. They added, however, that the procedure did not appear to significantly increase their lung function.
The findings were presented this week during an annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Atlanta.
Asthma is one of the most common long-term diseases of children, striking as many as one in 11 kids. Asthma causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or early in the morning.
Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States, with more than 530,000 procedures performed annually in children younger than 15 years, usually in combination with adenoidectomy.