ArticleThe Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2022
Characteristics of the sore throat test and treat service in community pharmacies (STREP) in Wales: cross-sectional analysis of 11 304 consultations using anonymized electronic pharmacy records.
Article in The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Group A Streptococcus molecular point of care testing in a paediatric emergency department.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2026Article
- Point-of-care testing in community pharmacies to improve antimicrobial stewardship in respiratory infections: a scoping review of effectiveness, implementation and cost-effectiveness.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Review
- Pharmacist-Led Diagnostics: A New Frontier in Antimicrobial Stewardship.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Pharmaceutical Interventions in Self-Medication, Focus on Requests in Dentistry : A Descriptive Study in Community Pharmacies in the Auvergne Region, France.International dental journal · 2025Article
- How to identify respiratory pathogens in primary health care - a review on the benefits, prospects and pitfalls in using point of care tests.Infection · 2025Review
- Antimicrobial stewardship interventions involving community pharmacy teams: a scoping review.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Review
- Comparison of antibiotic provision associated with acute sore throat symptom management in community pharmacies in Wales and England: a natural policy experiment.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2025Article
- Clinical outcomes following acute sore throat assessment at community pharmacy versus general practice: a retrospective, longitudinal, data linkage study.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2025Article
- Over-the-counter antibiotics compromising aminoglycoside activity.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2025Article
- Health inequalities and community pharmacy closures: why we should all be worried.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Article
- Does the Addition of Point-of-Care Testing Alter Antibiotic Prescribing Decisions When Patients Present with Acute Sore Throat to Primary Care? A Prospective Test of Change.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A pharmacy-led sore throat test and treat (STTT) service: antigen testing and antibiotic supply rates during the period of heightened public awareness of Group A Streptococcus infections.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2024Article
- Implementation of the national antimicrobial stewardship competencies for UK undergraduate healthcare professional education within undergraduate pharmacy programmes: a survey of UK schools of pharmacy.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Article
- Antibiotic stewardship: where next?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Article
- Treatment of recurrent acute tonsillitis-a systematic review and clinical practice recommendations.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Review
- Evidence for using point-of-care diagnostics in the management of respiratory tract infections in primary care: a scoping review protocol.HRB open research · 2023Article
- Streptococcus A Rapid Diagnostic Testing in England Community Pharmacies: Clinical and Economic Impact of Empowering Pharmacists in Management of Sore Throat.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn NHS-funded sore throat test and treat (STTT) service was introduced in selected community pharmacies in Wales. Service users were screened using FeverPAIN/Centor scores, offered rapid antigen detection testing (RADT) to detect group A Streptococcus if appropriate, and supplied with antibiotics (by the pharmacist) if indicated. Following an initial evaluation, the service was rolled out nationally.
objectivesThis study forms part of the long-term STTT evaluation. The aim was to describe characteristics of the service and service users, the delivery, service outcomes, patient safety and antibiotic prescribing.
methodsCross-sectional descriptive study using anonymized individual-level data from electronic pharmacy records of all eligible STTT service users between November 2018 and February 2020.
resultsWe identified 11 304 pharmacy STTT consultations in service users aged 6 years and over, with a median age of 25 years (IQR: 12 to 44). RADT was undertaken in 8666 (76.7%) consultations with 2503 (28.9% of RADT) positive tests. In total, 2406 (21.3%) service users were supplied with antibiotics. Pharmacists managed 91% of consultations in the pharmacy and referred only 937 (9.3%) service users to a GP and 27 (0.2%) to the Emergency Department. Higher rates of antibiotic supply were observed in out-of-hours consultations when compared with in-hours (24.9% versus 20.9%).
conclusionsThis is the largest description of a pharmacy-led STTT service to date and suggests it can be delivered at scale to align with a pre-specified pathway that promotes appropriate use of RADT and antibiotics. The service could substantially reduce workload from a common illness in other heavily pressurized areas of primary and emergency care.
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