{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T00:00:06Z","timestamp":1791936006353,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,1]],"date-time":"2022-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1640995200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]},"abstract":"Background<\/jats:title> Tonsillectomy is a commonly performed procedure in Canada. The rate of occult malignancy is rare in adult and pediatric populations. At present, no guidelines exist surrounding the need for routine histopathological evaluation of tonsil specimens when no malignancy is suspected. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Methods<\/jats:title> We sent a confidential online survey to active members of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology \u2013 Head and Neck Surgery (CSO-HNS) about their current tonsillectomy practice and beliefs surrounding the need for routine histopathological evaluation of tonsillectomy specimens when no malignancy is suspected. We used Opinio survey software for data collection and descriptive statistics. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Results<\/jats:title> 95 participants completed our survey (response rate 19.3%). Most participants reported performing both adult and pediatric tonsillectomies. When no malignancy is suspected, participant responses were split between whether they send tonsil specimens in pediatrics only (4.2%), in adults only (31.6%), or not sending specimens (29.5%). Half of the participants reported that routinely sending specimens to rule out occult malignancy is an institutional policy. Approximately 75% of participants were in favour of removing this practice in both the pediatric and adult populations. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Conclusion<\/jats:title> Eliminating the practice of automatically sending tonsil specimens for histopathological evaluation when no malignancy is suspected was supported by the majority of study participants. This is in keeping with Choosing Wisely, a campaign designed to facilitate conversations about unnecessary medical tests and procedures. Institutional change is likely required in order to alter this practice. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Graphical Abstract<\/jats:title> <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,6]],"date-time":"2022-04-06T10:21:14Z","timestamp":1649240474000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Routine evaluation of tonsillectomy specimens: A cross-sectional survey of Canadian Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgeons"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"51","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5174-1640","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexi","family":"Kuhnow","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1459 Oxford Street, B3H 4R2, Halifax, NS, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed A.","family":"Al-Sayed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Otolaryngology \u2013 Head and Neck Surgery, Nova Scotia Health Authority, 5820 University Ave, Halifax, NS, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Taylor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Otolaryngology \u2013 Head and Neck Surgery, Nova Scotia Health Authority, 5820 University Ave, Halifax, NS, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-s40463-022-00569-7","unstructured":"Quality-based procedures clinical handbook for paediatric tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care & Provincial Council for Maternal & Child Health 2016. http:\/\/www.health.gov.on.ca\/en\/pro\/programs\/ecfa\/docs\/qbp_tonsil.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2020."},{"key":"bibr2-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0194599818801757"},{"key":"bibr3-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1066896911402069"},{"key":"bibr4-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tran AHL, Chin KL, Horne RSC, et al. Hospital revisits after paediatric tonsillectomy: a cohort study. J Otolaryngol \u2013 Head & Neck Surg. 2022;51(1).","DOI":"10.1186\/s40463-021-00552-8"},{"key":"bibr5-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/MOO.0b013e32832984c0"},{"key":"bibr6-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ajcp\/110.3.391"},{"key":"bibr7-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00428-015-1801-0"},{"key":"bibr8-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00106-009-1889-0"},{"key":"bibr9-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00405-014-2902-0"},{"key":"bibr10-s40463-022-00569-7","unstructured":"About Choosing Wisely Canada. Choosing Wisely Canada. https:\/\/choosingwiselycanada.org\/about\/. Accessed 10 March 2021."},{"key":"bibr11-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"McDonough M, Hathi K, Corsten G, et al. Choosing Wisely Canada \u2013 pediatric otolaryngology recommendations. J Otolaryngol \u2013 Head Neck Surg. 2021;50(61).","DOI":"10.1186\/s40463-021-00533-x"},{"key":"bibr12-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1503\/cmaj.080372"},{"key":"bibr13-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1503\/cjs.025910"},{"key":"bibr14-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/lary.25152"},{"key":"bibr15-s40463-022-00569-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/MLG.0b013e318093ee4e"},{"key":"bibr16-s40463-022-00569-7","unstructured":"Three things physicians and patients should question in Otolaryngology\u2014 \u2013 Head and Neck surgery. Choosing Wisely Canada. www.choosingwiselycanada.org\/otolaryngology\/. Accessed 10 March 2021."}],"container-title":["Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7\/fulltext.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,11]],"date-time":"2025-03-11T06:12:03Z","timestamp":1741673523000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]},"references-count":16,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40463-022-00569-7","relation":{},"ISSN":["1916-0216","1916-0216"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1916-0216","type":"print"},{"value":"1916-0216","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]},"article-number":"14"}}