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Although Linder et al¹ point out the poor compliance with either Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) or American College of Physicians (ACP) guidelines for the treatment of pharyngitis, the question of why to treat and how to treat remains a debatable issue for many physicians. As pointed out by Centor and Cohen² in the accompanying editorial, group C streptococcal infections may be missed by any method that relies solely on rapid testing, as may group G infections. Despite the widespread use of the 4 Centor criteria³ for aid in diagnosis, the usefulness of these criteria are questionable. Although pediatric pharyngitis presentations are sometimes different from those in adults, we can still learn from pediatric experience. Lin et al⁴ showed that the presence of fever, tonsillar exudate, and lack of cough were not reliable indicators of group A streptococcus (GAS) infection. Anterior adenopathy was the only one of the Centor . . . [Full Text of this Article]

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Eric L. Westerman, MD

RELATED ARTICLE

Evaluation and Treatment of Pharyngitis in Primary Care Practice: The Difference Between Guidelines Is Largely Academic
Jeffrey A. Linder, Joseph C. Chan, and David W. Bates
Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(13):1374-1379.
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