Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36998549›Full record

ReviewOTO open

Intracapsular Tonsillectomy Using Plasma Ablation Versus Total Tonsillectomy: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.

Matthew J Sedgwick, Christopher Saunders, Neil Bateman

Open access · goldFull text readReview
In one paragraph

Review in OTO open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. [Clinical practice guideline for perioperative pain management in pediatric low-temperature plasma tonsillectomy].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2026
    Guideline
  2. Revision rates after pediatric PITA: A comparative study of microdebrider and coblation techniques.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Article
  3. Pediatric intracapsular tonsillectomy: a comprehensive review and expert perspective.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. [Clinical practice guidelines for day surgery of tonsils and adenoids in children].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Short-Term Outcomes of Tonsillectomy in Large Paediatric Case Series.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2024
    Article
  8. [Long-term effect observation after 10 years of tonsillotomy (Histological analysis of one case of secondary operation)].Lin chuang er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Matthew J SedgwickGlobal Clinical and Medical Affairs Smith+Nephew Hull UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9084-0190
Christopher SaundersGlobal Clinical and Medical Affairs Smith+Nephew Hull UK.
Neil BatemanPaediatric Otolaryngology Department, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Manchester UK.
Smith & Nephew (United Kingdom) · GBManchester Academic Health Science Centre · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether intracapsular tonsillectomy, using plasma ablation, results in differences in postoperative patient outcomes to total tonsillectomy. Data Sources: A systematic review of two databases (Embase and PubMed) was conducted in March 2022 to identify published English-language randomized controlled trials and observational studies which provided a comparison between intracapsular tonsillectomy, using plasma ablation, and total tonsillectomy. Review Methods: Qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis were used to compare outcomes between techniques. Results: Seventeen studies were identified for inclusion. Across these, 1996 and 4565 patients underwent intracapsular and total tonsillectomy, respectively. Studies included 8 randomized controlled trials, 1 prospective cohort study, and 8 retrospective cohort studies. Time to pain free, time on analgesia, time to normal diet, and time to normal activity were significantly shorter with intracapsular tonsillectomy by on average 4.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-5.9; Conclusion: Intracapsular tonsillectomy using plasma ablation has similar efficacy in managing indications for tonsil surgery to total tonsillectomy while significantly reducing the postoperative morbidity and likelihood of posttonsillectomy hemorrhage experienced by patients, allowing them to return to their normal life faster.

Indexed as

obstructive sleep apneapainposttonsillectomy hemorrhagetonsillectomytonsillitistonsillotomy

Identifiers

PMID36998549
PMCPMC10046729
OpenAlexW4321195575

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read49
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.