Diagnosis and Management of Adults with Pharyngitis

Letters4 May 2004Diagnosis and Management of Adults with PharyngitisJoan Neuner, MD and Mark D. Aronson, MDJoan Neuner, MDFrom Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215.Search for more papers by this author and Mark D. Aronson, MDFrom Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-140-9-200405040-00023 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Dr. Corwin is concerned about the possible poor sensitivity of pharyngeal culture compared with the ASLO titre. The test characteristics of pharyngeal culture when compared with a variety of other tests have varied in the literature, as we reviewed in our article and its appendix. Probably because ASLO assessment takes at least a week and thus cannot be used for treatment decisions in the clinical setting, there is unfortunately little information regarding ASLO titers in a group of patients “suspicious” for streptococcal pharyngitis or in patients receiving rapid immunoassay testing. This lack of data made it difficult for ...References1. Roddey OF, Clegg HW, Martin ES, Swetenburg RL, Koonce EW. Comparison of throat culture methods for the recovery of group A streptococci in a pediatric office setting. JAMA. 1995;274:1863-5. [PMID: 7500536] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Kaltwasser G, Diego J, Welby-Sellenriek PL, Ferrett R, Caparon M, Storch GA. Polymerase chain reaction for Streptococcus pyogenes used to evaluate an optical immunoassay for the detection of group A streptococci in children with pharyngitis. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1997;16:748-53. [PMID: 9271035] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Rousculp M. Clinical management of adults with group A-beta hemolytic streptococci-suspected pharyngitis: a cost-effectiveness analysis [Dissertation]. Birmingham, AL: University of Alabama at Birmingham; 2002. Google Scholar4. Herman JM. Patients' willingness to take risks in the management of pharyngitis. J Fam Pract. 1984;19:767-72. [PMID: 6502081] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoDiagnosis and Management of Adults with Pharyngitis: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Joan M. Neuner , Mary Beth Hamel , Russell S. Phillips , Kira Bona , and Mark D. Aronson Diagnosis and Management of Adults with Pharyngitis Norman D. Corwin Diagnosis and Management of Adults with Pharyngitis Stuart Cohen and Robert Centor Metrics 4 May 2004Volume 140, Issue 9Page: 763KeywordsAdultsDecision makingImmunoassaysPharyngitisPolymerase chain reactionPopulation statisticsSigns and symptomsStreptococcal infectionsStreptococcal pharyngitis ePublished: 4 May 2004 Issue Published: 4 May 2004 CopyrightCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...