Tonsillitis acuta bij kinderen in de huisartsenpraktijk: Verandering van incidentie en beleid?

Objective: To assess whether changes have occurred in incidence rates and management of acute tonsillitis among children between the ages of 0 and 17 years in Dutch general practice. Design: A comparison was made between two Dutch general practice National Surveys (1987 and 2001) of children 0-17 years of age. Incidence rates were compared by age, sex, degree of urbanisation and socioeconomic status. To assess the management of the general practitioner, we distinguished between three strategies: wait and see, drug prescription and hospital referral. Results: The incidence rate per 1000 person-years was 44.9 in 1987 against 19.1 in 2001. In 2001 a wait-and-see policy was found more often compared to 1987 (34% versus 20% respectively) and fewer broad-spectrum antibiotics were prescribed. Conclusions: We found a decreasing incidence of acute tonsillitis among children in Dutch general practice. General practitioners' management of this disease has changed and is now more in accordance with the Dutch guideline for general practice