Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun;32(3):263-8.
doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmv015. Epub 2015 Mar 25.

Sore throat in primary care project: a clinical score to diagnose viral sore throat

Selcuk Mistik  1 , Selma Gokahmetoglu  2 , Elcin Balci  3 , Fahri A Onuk  4
Affiliations

Sore throat in primary care project: a clinical score to diagnose viral sore throat

Selcuk Mistik et al. Fam Pract. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Viral agents cause the majority of sore throats. However, there is not currently a score to diagnose viral sore throat. The aims of this study were (i) to find the rate of bacterial and viral causes, (ii) to show the seasonal variations and (iii) to form a new scoring system to diagnose viral sore throat.

Methods: A throat culture for group A beta haemolytic streptococci (GABHS) and a nasopharyngeal swab to detect 16 respiratory viruses were obtained from each patient. Over a period of 52 weeks, a total of 624 throat cultures and polymerase chain reaction analyses were performed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to find the clinical score.

Results: Viral infection was found in 277 patients (44.3%), and GABHS infection was found in 116 patients (18.5%). An infectious cause was found in 356 patients (57.1%). Rhinovirus was the most commonly detected infectious agent overall (highest in November, 34.5%), and the highest GABHS rate was in November (32.7%). Analysis of data provided a scoring system, called the Mistik Score, to diagnose viral sore throat. The predictive model for positive viral analysis included the following variables: absence of headache, stuffy nose, sneezing, temperature of ≥37.5°C on physical examination, and the absence of tonsillar exudate and/or swelling. The probability of a positive viral analysis for a score of 5 was 82.1%.

Conclusion: The Mistik Score may be useful to diagnose viral sore throat. We suggest its use either alone or in combination with the Modified Centor Score.

Keywords: Diagnose; primary care; score.; sore throat; viral.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Smith JL. Pharyngitis. In: Paulman PM, Paulman AA, Harrison JD. (eds). Taylor’s Manual of Family Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincot Williams & Wilkins, 2007, pp. 274–276.
    1. McIsaac WJ, White D, Tannenbaum D, Low DE. A clinical score to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in patients with sore throat. CMAJ 1998; 158: 75–83. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Matthys J, De Meyere M, van Driel ML, De Sutter A. Differences among international pharyngitis guidelines: not just academic. Ann Fam Med 2007; 5: 436–43. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hawker JI, Smith S, Smith GE, et al. Trends in antibiotic prescribing in primary care for clinical syndromes subject to national recommendations to reduce antibiotic resistance, UK 1995–2011: analysis of a large database of primary care consultations. J Antimicrob Chemoter 2014; 69: 3423–30. - PubMed
    1. Shallcross LJ, Davies DS. Antibiotic overuse: a key driver of antimicrobial resistance. Br J Gen Pract 2014; 64: 604–5. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances