A Study of Illness in a Group of Cleveland Families

A Controlled Study of the Effects of Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy in Children

“…Godwin (1953), Walker (1953), Johnston and Watkins, (1954), and LeRiche and Stiver (1957) showed a benefit from removal of tonsils. These results have not been confirmed by Merts (1954), McCorkle, Hodges, Badger, Dingle, and Jordan (1955), or in the earlier investigation into "Epidemics in Schools" (M.R.C., 1938) sponsored by the Medical Research Council; these workers found no real difference in the incidence of respiratory infections in children whether they had undergone tonsillectomy or not. At the other extreme, Paton (1943) found that tonsillectomy was responsible for an overall increase in respiratory illness in girls.…”

Are All "T's and A's" Really Necessary?

“…Dingle and his associates, in their Cleveland families study (McCorkle et al, 1955), report that in a long and continuous study of 230 children there were no differences in the attack rates and loss of school time for the common respiratory disorders in those children with their tonsils intact and those who had had their tonsils removed.…”

Paediatrics—II

“…A Medical Research Council Report (1938) went so far as to describe the operation as “a prophylactic ritual carried out for no particular reason with no particular result”. The most satisfactorily controlled study to date is that of McCorkle, Hodges, Badger, Dingle and Jordan (1955). During the course of the Cleveland Families Study 26 children had their tonsils removed.…”