Incidence of acute streptococcal pharyngitis

Objective: to determine the frequency of streptococcal infection in patients having acute pharyngitis. material and methods: this study was conducted in ent clinic of khyber teaching hospital,peshawar from january 2013 to june 2013. a simple kit of rapid antigen detection test was used to identify the streptococcal antigen by taking a swab from the throat of patients. results: a total of 40 patients were selected from ent clinic khyber teaching hospital,peshawar,pakistan,as per selection criteria ranging from 3 to 40 years old. in our study,65% were male while 35% were female. of all the patients 13 (32.5%) cases were positive for streptococcal antigen while 27 (67.5%) cases were negative for streptococcal antigen. conclusion: rapid antigen detection test makes it easy to choose empirical antibiotic to the patients of acute pharyngitis without waiting for culture sensitivity. © 2015,khyber medical college. all rights reserved.