Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2026 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Scientific Oral Presentation

Pediatric Otolaryngology

Trends in Pediatric Otolaryngology Consultations at a Tertiary Academic Center, 2015–2022

Tuesday, October 20, 2026
9:15 AM - 9:21 AM PT
Location: 409AB

    Presenting Author(s)

  • AC

    Alice A. Carey, BS

    Medical Student
    UAB Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    MOBILE, Alabama, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Philip D. Rosen, MD

    Assistant Professor
    University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, AL, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • BB

    Brenton T. Bicknell, BS

    Medical Student
    UAB Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    Birmingham, AL, United States

Disclosure(s):
Philip D. Rosen, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Although pediatric otolaryngology consultations are integral to inpatient care, limited longitudinal data exist to guide understanding of consultation patterns, seasonal demand, and staffing needs, particularly across the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A retrospective review of 6,954 pediatric otolaryngology consults at a tertiary children’s hospital from 2015-2022 was conducted. Consults were categorized by encounter type, timing, care setting, and ICD-based diagnostic category. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests for categorical comparisons and Poisson regression and analysis of variance to evaluate temporal and seasonal trends, with significance defined as p< 0.05.

Results: Of 6,954 consults, 4,933 (71%) were initial and 2,021 (29%) were follow-ups. Consultations primarily originated from inpatient wards (59.6%), followed by the emergency department (24.6%) and ICUs/stepdown units (15.0%). Consult volume was significantly higher on weekdays compared with weekends (p < 0.001). Annual consult volume increased over the study period, with a marked decline during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.001). Monthly consult volume varied significantly across the calendar year (p=0.008), with stronger seasonal variation after the exclusion of calendar year 2020 (p < 0.001), peaking in late summer and fall. The most common diagnostic categories included infectious/parasitic (21%), respiratory (15%), endocrine/metabolic (14%), and eye/ear/mastoid conditions (10%).

Conclusions: Pediatric otolaryngology consultations demonstrate consistent temporal and clinical patterns, including higher weekday demand, seasonal variation, and predominance of inpatient care, which may inform staffing and resource planning.