[Sore throat: an analysis of medical management in a community clinic].
The diagnostic approach to sore throat and its treatment by 7 doctors was studied in 692 community clinic patients. Redness of the throat, the commonest clinical feature in all age groups, was present in 88%. The prevalence of other clinical findings varied in the different age groups. 54% of the patients, most of whom were less than 13 years old, were treated initially with antibiotics. Most of the physicians prescribed penicillin V (average, 8.4 days). From 11 (13%) of the throat cultures taken from children under the age of 4, beta hemolytic streptococci (BHS) were grown. Based on throat cultures, antibiotics had been given unnecessarily in 53% of those in whom it was initially prescribed, and wrongly withheld in 10% of those who initially did not receive them. This study reveals an urgent need for a rapid and accurate method of detecting BHS in patients with sore throat.
Kupat Holim, Jerusalem District, Hadassah Medical School.
A
A
Furst
M
M
Hasin
M
M
Imberg
M
M
Galperin
R
R
Luzinsky
T
T
Lustig
R
R
Simon
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004363:Drug Utilization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel; D008875:Middle Aged; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents