Streptococcal Pharyngitis
Eyes/Ears/Nose/Throat · ~6% of blueprint- Pathophysiology
- Group A Streptococcus (S. pyogenes) infection of the pharynx.
- Signs & Symptoms
- Sore throat, fever, tonsillar exudate, tender anterior cervical nodes, and absence of cough.
- Gold Standard Diagnosis
- Centor/McIsaac score → rapid antigen detection test ± throat culture (gold standard in children).
- First-line Treatment
- Penicillin or amoxicillin for 10 days (first-line); confirm GAS by RADT/culture before treating.
High-Yield Pearl
Treat GAS to prevent rheumatic fever; Centor criteria (fever, exudate, nodes, no cough) guide testing.
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Sources
Reviewed September 2026- 2025 IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline Update on Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis: Risk Assessment Using Clinical Scoring Systems in Children and Adults — Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2025
- IDSA 2012 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis — Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2012
- StatPearls: Streptococcal Pharyngitis — StatPearls Publishing / NCBI Bookshelf, 2026
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