title: [Antibiotic treatment of pharyngitis].
abstract: Antimicrobial therapy of pharyngitis focuses mainly on eradicating group A streptococci and treating recurrent pharyngitis. The French strategy rests on routine treatment of all cases of childhood pharyngitis; in the United-States, rapid tests are used to identify group A streptococci in the throat before treating. Antibiotics used against group A streptococci include beta-lactams and macrolides. Among beta-lactams, the reference drug is still penicillin, e.g., penicillin V for 10 days. However, numbers of carriers with positive throat cultures for Streptococcus pyogenes seem to be growing in the United States, with a 10-20% increase over the last twenty years. Duration of therapy could be reduced from 10 to 5 days with the new oral cephalosporins but these drugs are more expensive than penicillin. Recurrent pharyngitis is caused by a variety of organisms which are often penicillinase-producers. It follows that penicillin should not be used in these cases, which require oral cephalosporins or the amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination. Maintenance antimicrobial therapy between acute episodes should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Service de Consultation de Pédiatrie et de Pathologie Infectieuse et Tropicale, Hôpital Trousseau, Paris.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bégué
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D012008:Recurrence; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
vernacular_title: Traitement antibiotique des angines.