Obesity Tied to Longer Operative Time for Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy

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By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Judith Stewart, BPharm. Last updated on May 29, 2026.

via HealthDay

FRIDAY, May 29, 2026 -- Pediatric patients with obesity undergoing adenotonsillectomy (AT) face longer operating times, according to a study published online May 21 in the Ear, Nose and Throat Journal.

Dhivyaa Anandan, from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues compared differences in operative times associated with AT in pediatric patients (ages 3 to 17 years) with and without obesity. The analysis included data from 499 patients undergoing AT between February and December 2016, of whom 27 percent had obesity.

The researchers found that patients with obesity were more likely to be older (median, 8 versus 6 years old) and to have asthma or reactive airway disease (30.9 versus 17.4 percent). Children with obesity were less likely to have private insurance (22.1 versus 33.6 percent) or identify as White (66.9 versus 77.4 percent). Patients with obesity experienced longer induction time (15.2 versus 13.5 minutes), operative time (21.1 versus 18.0 minutes), emergence time (11.8 versus 9.27 minutes), and total operating room time (48.1 versus 40.7 minutes). Obesity was associated with greater induction time (β, 1.69), operative time (β, 2.37), emergence time (β, 2.21), and total operating room time (β, 6.27) in a multivariable linear regression analysis.

"Additional monitoring and care required for obese patients may place a higher cost and resource burden on both patient families and health care systems, which need to be further interrogated to manage patient and family expectations and optimize resource allocation for the safe care of obese pediatric patients," the authors write.

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Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-30 03:14

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