A Prospective Study of Nonsuppurative Complications of Streptococcal Pharyngitis

Abstract

Objective: Group A Streptococci (GAS) are the most important bacterial cause of pharyngitis. Antibiotic therapy can be prescribed and failure to treat it is associated with suppurative and nonsuppurative complications. Nonsuppurative complications occur after a latency period of a few weeks and include acute rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, acute glomerulonephritis, and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with group A streptococci. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of nonsuppurative complications in properly treated children with GAS pharyngitis. Methods: We investigated the frequency of nonsuppurative complications in 1030 proven GAS pharyngitis patients between 5 and 15 years old, who were properly treated by a prospective observational study. All patients diagnosed with GAS pharyngitis were followed up prospectively using a standard form for six months made by monthly phone calls. Results: All the isolates recovered from the patients were susceptible to penicillin. Twentyseven (2.6%) patients developed scarlet fever. No other nonsuppurative complications occured in our patient cohort. Conclusions: Penicillin remains the drug of choice for treatment of GAS pharyngitis. The rate of nonsuppurative complications of GAS pharyngitis has decreased significantly in the antibiotic era. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2016;6(1): 8-11 Key words: Group A Streptococci, nonsuppurative complications, scarlet fever