Three days of antibiotics after tonsillectomy. According to a study in the October 2009 issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, children recover as well after tonsillectomy when receiving a three-day course of antibiotics as the standard seven-day course. The researchers randomized 49 children, average age 4.9 years, into two groups, one in which the children were given amoxicillin for seven days and one in which they were given amoxicillin for three days followed by four days of placebo. Children in both groups took five to six days to return to a normal diet and level of activity, and required about the same amount of pain medication. A shorter course of antibiotics could decrease costs, increase patient drug adherence, and reduce antibiotic-associated complications such as diarrhea and antibiotic resistance.