Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Vitamin D deficiency can cause frequent infection of tonsil and adenoid. Recurrent upper airway infections are associated with hypertrophy of lymphoid tissues (adenoid and palatine tonsils) in children. Obstructive sleep disorders, failure to thrive, facial deformity, and cognitive disorders are among the most important complications of adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Surgery is indicated in cases with symptomatic adenotonsillar hypertrophy, who did not respond to conservative management. This study aimed to evaluate the relation between serum vitamin D level and size of palatine tonsils and adenoid. If there was a significant relationship between them, vitamin D replacement therapy could replace surgery in many cases. It seems to be a logical way to prevent possible complications of adenotonsillar hypertrophy and avoid many adenotonsillectomies. 
Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 3 to 15-year-old children, who were referred to the Otorhinolaryngology Clinic of Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, from 2015 to 2017. The patients should not have any history of chronic diseases and not be treated with vitamin D supplements. Adenoid hypertrophy was evaluated in patients with suspected symptoms. Lateral nasopharyngeal x-ray was used to determine adenoid hypertrophy. The tonsillar size was assessed in all patients by careful oral physical examination. They were divided into 4 groups, according to the grade of tonsillar hypertrophy. Then, each group was subdivided as with or without adenoid hypertrophy.
Results: The total number of cases was 140. Sixty-nine girls (49.3%) and seventy-one boys (50.7%) were enrolled. The average of their age was 7.69 years (SD=3.28). There was no significant difference in the vitamin D levels among all groups (P=0.211), but children with grade 3 and 4 of tonsillar hypertrophy had lower serum vitamin D levels compared with others. Also, the difference between serum vitamin D levels in patients with or without adenoid hypertrophy was not significant (P=0.254).
Conclusion: Although vitamin D deficiency may predispose patients to recurrent infections, it has no effect on creating adenotonsillar hypertrophy. The serum level of vitamin D does not seem to correlate with the adenoid size, but lack of vitamin D may predispose patients to more sever tonsillar hypertrophy. More extended studies should be conducted in this regard.

Results: Doing qualitative research and conducting thematic analysis, paraclinical services were classified into three categories: input, process, and outcome. The inputs  category had 5 organizing themes including paraclinical structure, human resource empowerment, cost management, social responsibility and service purchasing. The processes consisted of four themes: organizing the acceptance and delivery of services, monitoring and evaluating implementation, interdisciplinary coordination, applying innovation, and creativity in service delivery. Finally, outputs included three themes: organizing disease prevention and health promotion, gaining a competitive advantage, and reducing health costs. Conclusion: According to the study's findings, to purchase or rationally use paraclinical services, it is necessary to know the dimensions and components that affect them. Managers of the social security organization are urged to lay a greater focus on employee empowerment, the employment of innovative approaches, and interdepartmental collaboration to enhance paraclinical service supply. Additionally, they may better fulfill their social duties and enhance their workers' health services by monitoring and evaluating executive actions.