Administration of perioperative antibiotics for children undergoing tonsillectomy shows no significant benefits in regard to common post-tonsillectomy morbidities. Overuse of systemic antibiotics increases bacterial resistance and the risk of adverse drug events unnecessarily. These concerns outweigh the reduction in postoperative fever which is the only potential benefit of perioperative antibiotic administration for elective tonsillectomy. Therefore, perioperative antibiotics are not indicated for children undergoing elective tonsillectomy, unless specific indications are present (e.g., cardiac conditions or those with a peritonsillar abscess or acute infection). For more information:
Dhiwakar M, Clement WA, Supriya M, McKerrow WS. Antibiotics to reduce post-tonsillectomy morbidity. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;(2):CD005607. PMID: 23235625.
Mitchell RB, Archer SM, Ishman SL, Rosenfeld RM, Coles S, Finestone SA, et al. Clinical practice guideline: tonsillectomy in children (update). Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019;160(1 Suppl):S1–42. PMID: 30921525.