New Guidelines For Strep Throat Testing

Clinicians must ensure that only confirmed cases of group A streptococcal pharyngitis in children and adolescents are treated with antibiotics, according to an updated guideline from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The guideline, which updates recommendations published in 2002, states that children and adolescents with negative rapid antigen detection test results should still be re-tested with throat cultures. Positive results do not require further confirmation and false-positives are rare.

Through this guideline, researchers hope to decrease the possibility of inappropriately treating with antibiotics sore throats caused by viruses and other pathogens.   

The guideline also discourages both testing for group A streptococcal infection in children younger than 3 years, due to the infrequency of cases in that age group, and tonsillectomy to reduce frequency in patients with recurrent episodes. 

Read the full guideline.

-Michael Potts