Point of care testing for group A streptococci in patients presenting with pharyngitis will improve appropriate antibiotic prescription.

Objective: History, clinical examination and throat culture may be inadequate to rule in or out the presence of group A streptococci (GAS) infection in patients with sore throat in a remote location. We correlated the diagnostic accuracy for guiding antibiotic prescription of clinical decision and physiological scoring systems to a rapid diagnostic point of care (POC) test result in paediatric patients presenting with sore throat.

Methods: Prospective diagnostic accuracy study conducted between 30 June 2014 and 27 February 2015 in a remote Australian ED using a convenience sample.

Etiologic predictive value of a rapid immunoassay for the detection of group A Streptococcus antigen from throat swabs in patients presenting with a sore throat.

Background: Clinical reasoning utilizing certain symptoms and scores has not proven to be a reliable decision-making tool to determine whether or not to suspect a group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection in the patient presenting with a sore throat. Culture as the so-called 'gold standard' is impracticable because it takes 1 to 2 days (and even longer in remote locations) for a result, and thus treatment decisions will be made without the result available. Rapid diagnostic antigen tests have demonstrated sufficient sensitivities and specificities in detecting GAS antigens to identify GAS throat infections.