Tonsillectomy Bleed Rates across the CHEER Practice Research Network: Pursuing Guideline Adherence and Quality Improvement

Objectives (1) Compare postoperative bleeding in the CHEER network (Creating Healthcare Excellence through Education and Research) among age groups, diagnoses, and practice types. (2) Report the incidence of bleeding by individual CHEER practice site based on practice guidelines. Study Design Retrospective data collection database review of the CHEER network based on ICD-9 and CPT codes related to tonsillectomy patients. Setting Multisite practice-based network. Subjects and Methods A total of 8347 subjects underwent tonsillectomy as determined by procedure code within the retrospective data collection database, and 107 had postoperative hemorrhage. These subjects had demographic information and related diagnoses based on the CPT and ICD-9 codes collected. Postoperative ICD-9 and CPT codes were used to identify patients who also had postoperative bleed. Variables included age (<12 vs ≥12 years), diagnoses (infectious vs noninfectious), and practice type (community vs academic). Statistical analysis included multivariate logistic regression variables predictive of postoperative bleeding, with P <.05 considered significant. Results Thirteen sites contributed data to the study (7 academic, 6 community). There was postoperative bleeding for an overall bleed rate of 1.3%. Patients ≥12 years old had a significantly increased bleed rate when compared with the younger group (odds ratio, 5.98; 95% confidence interval: 3.79-9.44; P <.0001). There was no significant difference in bleed rates when practices or diagnoses were compared. Conclusion A site descriptor database built to expedite clinical research can be used for practice assessment and quality improvement. These data were also useful to identify patient risk factors for posttonsillectomy bleed.