Strep Throat and the Inappropriate Use of Antibiotics
- By:groshan fabiola
Strep throat refers to acute pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx) due to infection with Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus bacteria. Unlike the very common sore throat (viral acute pharyngitis), disease caused by various flu viruses, rarely requiring the use of medications, strep throat may require a course of specific antibiotics in order to accelerate the recovery from disease and prevent the occurrence of potential complications. Although bacterial and viral forms of acute pharyngitis have distinctive causes, the manifestations of both disorders are very similar: throat inflammation, soreness, discomfort, difficult swallowing, etc. Without proper medical investigations, the common sore throat can be easily mistaken for strep throat and vice versa. Due to inaccurate diagnosis, patients with strep throat who should be prescribed antibiotics may not receive any medications at all, while patients with viral sore throat may be needlessly prescribed strong antibiotic medications.
Recent investigations have revealed that large numbers of patients who present to the doctor with pharyngitis are given the wrong medications as a result of erroneous diagnosis. According to recent studies, doctors needlessly prescribe antibiotics to about half of children with sore throat, the common viral pharyngitis. In addition, about a third of children with strep throat either don’t receive any medications at all or are prescribed non-specific, un-recommended antibiotics. These facts are very disturbing, as they clearly reveal the poor quality of today’s system of pediatric medicine. Considering that the existing methods of diagnosis are very efficient in separating between viral and bacterial forms of pharyngitis, the blame for the overwhelmingly large number of cases of inappropriately treated strep throat can be attributed entirely to pediatricians and family medicine physicians.
Antibiotics are strong medications that can produce various side-effects. Even when prescribed correctly, such medications can still generate side-effects such as nausea, allergic reactions, digestive problems, decreased immune system response to future infections and so on. When prescribed to patients with viral pharyngitis, antibiotics will only produce undesirable results, being unable to accelerate the recovery from disease. When prescribed to patients with strep throat, unspecific antibiotics (antibiotics outside the spectrum of penicillin derivates, amoxicillin, erythromycin or cephalosporins) or the right antibiotics in the wrong doses can produce serious side-effects and also increase the resistance of streptococcus bacteria to medications. Persons who have been inappropriately prescribed antibiotics in the past tend to become less responsive to treatments with antibiotics and require more substantial doses in order to overcome bacterial infections.
Most of the existing cases of inappropriate strep throat treatment could have been easily avoided by using proper methods of diagnosis. The most efficient and reliable method of diagnosing strep throat consists in performing the simple pharyngeal exudate test. This test involves rubbing a spatula against the throat’s walls in order to take a sample of mucus. The sample is then analyzed in the laboratory to detect the exact type of organism responsible for causing the throat inflammation. If the test reveals the presence of active streptococcus bacteria strains, then the recommended treatment consists of specific antibiotics.
In case the test suggests the involvement of viruses in causing the throat inflammation, antibiotics are best not to be used in the treatment. The use of this test has a vital role in preventing cases of inappropriate treatment of pharyngitis. Considering that the test is quick, simple and involves low costs, all patients with pharyngeal inflammation should receive it in order to ensure that they will be appropriately diagnosed and treated.About the author:
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