1 Department of Pediatrics, Städtisches Klinikum Fulda, Teaching Hospital of the University of Marburg, Pacelliallee 4, D-6400 Fulda, Federal Republic of Germany
To the Editor.
We read with interest the article "Preoperative History and Coagulation Screening in Children Undergoing Tonsillectomy."1 In 1990, we performed a prospective study on the incidence of previously undetected pediatric diseases in children who were admitted to our hospital for surgical procedures.2 497 children aged 2 months to 16 years were enrolled in the study. All children were cared for by a pediatrician as well as by colleagues from specific surgical departments, eg, ear, nose, and throat surgery (50.9%), gastrointestinal surgery (17.3%), urology (12.9%), traumatology (11 .9%), oral surgery (4.2%), neurosurgery (0.4%), and others (2.4%).