ArticleBMC infectious diseases2021
Association between bacterial finding, antibiotic treatment and clinical course in patients with pharyngotonsillitis: a registry-based study in primary healthcare in Sweden.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Primary care pharyngotonsillitis complications following absent or deferred antibiotic treatment across the COVID 19 pandemic.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Can the remuneration scheme of general practitioners affect their antibiotic prescription behaviour?Health economics review · 2026Article
- Use of point-of-care tests in pharyngotonsillitis - a registry-based study in primary health care.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Case Report:Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Comparison of Group A Streptococcus Antigen Detection and Pathogen Culture in Paediatric Infections.Infection and drug resistance · 2025Article
- Antibiotic Treatment for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Primary Care: A Register-Based Study Examining the Role of Radiographic Imaging.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antibiotic treatment of respiratory tract infections in adults in Norwegian general practice.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe role of non-group A streptococci and Fusobacterium necrophorum in pharyngotonsillitis has been disputed and few prospective studies have evaluated the effect of antibiotic treatment. This study uses registry data to investigate the relation between antibiotic prescription for pharyngotonsillitis in primary healthcare and return visits for pharyngotonsillitis, complications, and tonsillectomy.
methodsRetrospective data were extracted from the regional electronic medical record system in Kronoberg County, Sweden, for all patients diagnosed with pharyngotonsillitis between 2012 and 2016. From these data, two cohorts were formed: one based on rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) for group A streptococci (GAS) and one based on routine throat cultures for β-haemolytic streptococci and F. necrophorum. The 90 days following the inclusion visit were assessed for new visits for pharyngotonsillitis, complications, and tonsillectomy, and related to bacterial aetiology and antibiotic prescriptions given at inclusion.
resultsIn the RADT cohort (n = 13,781), antibiotic prescription for patients with a positive RADT for GAS was associated with fewer return visits for pharyngotonsillitis within 30 days compared with no prescription (8.7% vs. 12%; p = 0.02), but not with the complication rate within 30 days (1.5% vs. 1.8%; p = 0.7) or with the tonsillectomy rate within 90 days (0.27% vs. 0.26%; p = 1). In contrast, antibiotic prescription for patients with a negative RADT was associated with more return visits for pharyngotonsillitis within 30 days (9.7% vs. 7.0%; p = 0.01). In the culture cohort (n = 1 370), antibiotic prescription for patients with Streptococcus dysgalactiae ssp. equisimilis was associated with fewer return visits for pharyngotonsillitis within 30 days compared with no prescription (15% vs. 29%; p = 0.03).
conclusionsAntibiotic prescription was associated with fewer return visits for pharyngotonsillitis in patients with a positive RADT for GAS but with more return visits in patients with a negative RADT for GAS. There were no differences in purulent complications related to antibiotic prescription.
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