[Rapid diagnosis of acute tonsillitis caused by streptococcus group A].

In general practice, a material of 202 patients seeking advice on account of difficulty in swallowing were included consecutively in an investigation with the object of assessing the value of a rapid test, Respiralex, for the diagnosis of group A streptococci as compared with culture. The true positive and negative diagnostic frequencies were 0.89 and 0.94, respectively. Absence of agreement was found most frequently when culture rendered poor growth. It is concluded that Respiralex is such a reliable method of examination in the diagnosis of group A streptococci, that it is recommended for use in general practice and that culture is only necessary in patients with negative Respiralex tests and pronounced objective signs of streptococcal tonsillitis.