Background: Recurrent tonsillitis is a common disease with marked evidence of affecting children quality of life (QOL) such as their progression in school and increased burden to extended families. The aim of this study was to compare the QOL outcomes after conventional dissection tonsillectomy versus azithromycin treatment in controlling recurrent tonsillitis.
Methods: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was carried out in 184 children with recurrent tonsillitis randomly divided into two groups: Group A was subjected to conventional dissection tonsillectomy, whereas Group B received single 250 mg (children ≤25 kg) and 500 mg (children ≥25 kg) of oral azithromycin once weekly.
Results: There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to ear, nose, and throat infections during the 5-year follow-up. Better QOL was observed in both groups when compared with the pretreatment, but similar QOL in both groups QOL after treatment.
Conclusion: Azithromycin is an effective method as a prophylaxis against recurrent tonsillitis with a great benefit for better QOL outcomes.
Keywords: azithromycin; children; quality of life; recurrent tonsillitis; tonsillectomy.