Context

Acute pharyngitis is among the most common reasons for primary care visits.1 Although current evidence suggests that antibiotics have some beneficial effects on symptoms in patients suffering from acute sore throat, in particular in those with Lancefield group A β-haemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infections, the absolute benefits are marginal, as almost 90% of treated and untreated patients are symptom free by 1 week.2 Criteria from the research of Centor et al 3 are most commonly used to predict GABHS infection in patients suffering from acute sore throat. The use of these criteria, however, leads to high antibiotic prescription rates in particular because of their …