[Fast diagnostic tests in the management of group A beta-heamolytic streptococcal pharyngitis].

OBJECTIVE

Routine clinical diagnosis of Streptococcus pyogenes in pharyngitis is not always easy. The use in common practice of rapid diagnosis test (RDT), might offer a best control of the antibiotic treatments. The aim of this study is to present seven rapid diagnosis tests, to assess their feasibility and finally to determine the bacteriological correlation.

METHOD: We propose to compare the results obtained with seven RDT, and to assess their interest in medical diagnosis for group A streptococcus pharyngitis. A prospective study was conducted for three months, a RDT was performed for children (n=75) between eight and fourteen years old presenting acute pharyngitis. Several throat sampling were performed to order cultures.

RESULTS

The group A streptococcus was isolated in 33% (n=25) of throat sampling. Comparing cultures results, and for all studied tests, we obtained comparable performances with manufacturer data, specificity upper than 94% and sensitivity upper than 88%.

CONCLUSION

All assessed RDT may offer to physicians a decision-making tool for rapid diagnosis. However, because of its complexity, the agglutination test can be used only in pathology laboratories.