Diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of group a streptococcal pharyngitis in children in a primary care setting: impact of point-of-care polymerase chain reaction.

Background: To compare the sensitivity and specificity of the recommended 2-step rapid antigen detection test (RADT) with confirmatory culture vs the point-of-care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Roche cobas® Liat® Strep A test for detection of group A Streptococcus (GAS) in pediatric patients with pharyngitis, and to investigate the impact of these tests on antibiotic use in a large pediatric clinic.

Methods: This prospective, open-label study was conducted at a single site during fall/winter 2016-2017. A total of 275 patients aged 3 to 18 years with symptoms of pharyngitis had a throat-swab specimen analyzed using RADT, POC PCR, and culture.