paradise_criteria_tonsillectomy: Paradise Criteria for Tonsillectomy in Children

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

Paradise Criteria for Tonsillectomy in Children

Description

Evaluates the Paradise criteria to determine the appropriateness of tonsillectomy in children with recurrent throat infections. The criteria require a specific frequency of episodes over 1 to 3 years, and each episode must be characterized by specific clinical features (fever, lymphadenopathy, exudate, or positive GABHS) and treated with antibiotics.

Usage

paradise_criteria_tonsillectomy(episodes_past_12_months,
                                episodes_per_year_last_2_years,
                                episodes_per_year_last_3_years,
                                clinical_features_confirmed,
                                antibiotics_given_documented)

Arguments

episodes_past_12_months	Numeric. Number of throat infection episodes in the past year. (Threshold: >= 7).
episodes_per_year_last_2_years	Numeric. Average number of throat infection episodes per year for the past 2 years. (Threshold: >= 5 per year).
episodes_per_year_last_3_years	Numeric. Average number of throat infection episodes per year for the past 3 years. (Threshold: >= 3 per year).
clinical_features_confirmed	Numeric (0 or 1). Did each episode include at least one of the following: Temperature > 38.3 C (100.9 F), cervical lymphadenopathy (>2cm or tender), tonsillar exudate, or positive GABHS culture? (1 = Yes).
antibiotics_given_documented	Numeric (0 or 1). Were the episodes treated with antibiotics and documented in clinical records? (1 = Yes).

Value

A list containing:

Result

Recommendation regarding tonsillectomy ("Criteria Met" or "Criteria Not Met").

References

Paradise JL, Bluestone CD, Bachman RZ, et al. Efficacy of tonsillectomy for recurrent throat infection in severely affected children. Results of parallel randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials. N Engl J Med. 1984;310(11):674-683. doi:10.1056/NEJM198403153101102

Examples

# Example 1: Criteria Met (7 in 1 year)
# 7 episodes, features present, documented
paradise_criteria_tonsillectomy(7, 0, 0, 1, 1)

# Example 2: Criteria Not Met (Frequency insufficient)
# 4 episodes in 1 year, features present
paradise_criteria_tonsillectomy(4, 0, 0, 1, 1)

# Example 3: Criteria Not Met (Clinical features missing)
# 8 episodes, but not characterized by fever/nodes/exudate
paradise_criteria_tonsillectomy(8, 0, 0, 0, 1)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.