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Objectives Pharyngitis is a common presentation in children with most cases having a viral aetiology.1 Clinical scoring tools such as 'FeverPAIN' can be used to estimate the likelihood of bacterial infection and are often highly sensitive but not very specific as well as not being validated in younger children.2Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a common and potentially serious pathogen that concerns paediatricians and contributes to many antibiotic prescriptions for pharyngitis.22022 saw a significant surge in GAS cases including invasive disease. The UK has a 5-year action plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance which includes implementing rapid diagnostic tests to guide prescribing.3 We audited the use of rapid PCR GAS tests in an A Pelucchi C, Grigoryan L, Galeone C, Esposito S, Huovinen P, Little P, Verheij T. Guideline for the management of acute sore throat. Clin Microbiol Infect 2012 Apr;18(Suppl 1):1–28. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03766.x. PMID: 22432746. Malley M, Driver K, Costelloe M, Monaghan I, Jefferson L, Poole L, Lewis C, Salt R, Marlow R. To prescribe or not to prescribe for paediatric sore throat: a retrospective cohort study comparing clinician-led antibiotic prescriptions to FeverPAIN and Centor scoring in a tertiary paediatric emergency department and a national review of practice. Emerg Med J 2021 Aug;38(8):613–616. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2020-210786. Epub 2021 Apr 15. PMID: 33858860. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-5-year-action-plan-for-antimicrobial-resistance-2019-to-2024
Taylor et al. (Tue,) studied this question.