MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor, General Practice/Family Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; General Practice/Family, Region Västra Götaland, Research and Development Primary Health Care, Research and Development Center Södra Älvsborg, Sweden; General Practice/Family, Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe) at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
The usefulness of modern point-of-care tests for group A streptococci (GAS) is determined by the presence of carriers of GAS.
Evidence supports some beneficial effects of antibiotics prescribed to patients with a sore throat and proven presence of group A streptococci.
If a benefit of oral corticosteroids is not proven, then physicians currently prescribing it need to be advised of this finding.