Abstract:
Pharyngitis, a common childhood illness, accounts for around 3% of presentations to general practice in Australia. Although usually benign and selfâlimiting, group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis, isolated in up to 20% of symptomatic children, can lead to infectious and autoimmune sequelae. Despite Australia being a high income country, acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) still cause significant morbidity and mortality in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australia needs a single national pharyngitis guideline to assist in providing rational, consistent and timely antibiotic treatment to patients at high risk of ARF, while minimising inappropriate antibiotic usage and resistance in individuals at low risk of sequelae.
Call for a national sore throat guideline
Australia needs a single national pharyngitis guideline to assist in providing rational, consistent and timely antibiotic treatment to patients at high risk of ARF