Pediatric otolaryngology procedures in the United States: 1977-1987.

Common pediatric otolaryngology inpatient procedures for the years 1977 through 1987 are analyzed utilizing data provided by the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) of the National Center for Health Statistics. The data available reveal that adenotonsillar surgery remains the most frequent inpatient surgical procedure performed on all children under age 15 in spite of a decline in both the total number of adenotonsillar procedures and the rate per 100,000 population of greater than two-fold over this 11 year period. The total number of myringotomies with and without insertion of ventilation tubes and the rate per 100,000 children also decreased by greater than threefold during the same time span. Although representative of inpatient, non-institutionalized health care, the NHDS suffers from its lack of data concerning surgery performed in freestanding, ambulatory surgical facilities and military hospitals.