Comparison and Recommendation of Diagnostic Tools for Bacterial Pharyngitis at Primary Care Clinics
Laboratory Medicine Online
; : 307-313, 2020.
Article
in En
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-894973
Responsible library:
WPRO
ABSTRACT
There are more than 10 million visits to primary care clinics annually due to pharyngitis or tonsillitis. The antibiotic prescription rate for these patients is more than 50%. An optimal diagnosis is necessary to avoid antibiotic misuse or overuse. Here, we compared the benefits and pitfalls of three currently available laboratory methods, such as throat culture, rapid antigen detection test (RADT), and molecular tests. We also reviewed the current American and Korean guidelines for bacterial pharyngitis. Although throat culture is regarded as a gold standard, it requires high technical expertise and culture facilities. In addition, the turn-around time (TAT) is 1 day-2 days causing possible inadequate prescription as well as the inconvenience of a second clinical visit to check results. The RADT does not require culture facilities and the TAT is noticeably short (5-10 min). The initial low sensitivity of the RADT has been improved these days. Though molecular tests are the most advanced, there remains a lack of clinical data. Therefore, we recommend judicious use of the RADT for diagnosing bacterial pharyngitis as well as effective antibiotic prescriptions at primary care clinics.
Full text:
1
Index:
WPRIM
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
Language:
En
Journal:
Laboratory Medicine Online
Year:
2020
Type:
Article