Strep throat represents an acute bacterial form of pharingitis that requires antibiotic treatment and is caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus bacteria. There are also viral forms of acute pharingitis - the common throat sores, which may have the same symptoms of strep throat: difficulty to swallow, soreness, inflammation of the throat and discomfort. This similarity between their symptoms leads to confusion, in absence of accurate and proper investigation: although they are generated by different factors, strep throat can be taken for sore throat and the other way around. Usually sore throats don't need treatment, so there are cases in which the proper medication is not given to people that have strep throat because of diagnosis errors. The same errors may lead to the administering of strong antibiotics to patients that don't need them. So it is vital to have an accurate diagnosis in order to prevent such situations.

Cases of erroneous diagnosis have been recently investigated and the results were worrying: 50 % of the children that have strep throat are prescribed antibiotics they don't need while 33 % of the children with strep throat are not prescribed the necessary treatment (they either receive the wrong treatment or not receive medications at all). The persons to blame for that are the physicians and pediatricians, because there are very efficient methods to diagnose and distinguish viral from bacterial pharingitis, which makes their error unjustifiable.

Antibiotics are very effective when properly used but they may also cause strong side effects. in case of proper administration, these side effects may be: allergies, nausea, weakness of the immune system. When they are not needed but still prescribed, they have no positive effects; they may be damaging for the patient instead. In case a patient with strep throat receives other antibiotic prescription than one of the spectrum of amoxicillin, penicillin derivates, erythromycin or cephalosporins, or if the doses are not correct, side effects may appear. One of the risks of such situation is that of bacterial resistance to the treatment. Inappropriate treatment induces the person the tendency to have lower response to future antibiotics administration, which makes necessary for that person to take higher doses.

The available methods to obtain the exact diagnosis of strep throat are effective enough so that many erroneous diagnoses are not excusable.

One such method is the simple, but very effective and reliable pharyngeal exudate test, which consists in the culture of a secretion sample by means of a spatula rubbed against the walls of the throat. Laboratory tests will then be performed on the sample and will identify whether the infection is caused by viruses or bacteria. In case the streptococcus bacteria results to be the cause, antibiotics are prescribed in order to eradicate the infection.

Antibiotics are not recommended for viral infections of the throat. The pharyngeal exudate will thus help to avoid their needless prescription. It is a simple, rapid and inexpensive test so you should take it to make sure you receive the correct diagnosis and treatment.