Acute pharyngitis SHOULD NOT typically be treated with antibiotics. The great majority of cases are viral in origin
- MYTH#1: Antibiotics reduce symptomology – NO THEY DON’T (Steroids DO)
- MYTH #2: Antibiotics reduce the rate of suppurative complications – NO THEY DON’T (Little 2013).
Clinical Bottom Line:
We are far more likely to HARM patients with pharyngitis by giving antibiotics than to help them
- 1 in 10 patients will develop antibiotic associated diarrhea (some of these will be C. diff)
- Severe allergic reactions occur in 0.24% of patients – This means that out of 10 million patients treated with antibiotics, as many as 24,000 of them will have fatal or near-fatal allergic reactions.
Thus, it’s important to determine if the benefits of antibiotic treatment outweigh the risks.
