In Clinical
Bookmark
Key facts
- Around 90 per cent of sore throats that present in pharmacy will be caused by viral infection
- If the sore throat has lasted seven days or longer and shows no signs of settling, the patient should be referred
- Clinical scoring systems such as FeverPAIN for the Pharmacy First scheme have some predictive value for infections more likely to benefit from antibiotic treatment
- Examining a patient’s throat is a necessary part of using a clinical scoring system
- Streptococcal (bacterial) throat infections are more likely in children of school age
- Antibiotics need careful targeting and even so, may have a limited effect on outcome (on average they reduce the duration of symptoms by about 16 hours)
- Self-care with OTC analgesics and medicated lozenges are the mainstay of management for sore throats
Contributing authors: Professor Alison Blenkinsopp and Dr Martin Duerden