Retrospective study on the effectiveness and safety of the shortened 5- to 7-day antibiotic regimen for acute streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis compared to the classic 10-day regimen

Abstract

IntroductionAntibiotherapy regimens for management of acute streptococcal pharyngitis traditionally last 10 days, but the development of resistance to different antimicrobials has motivated the exploration of shorter courses. Material and methodsWe selected patients given a diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis in 2 paediatric caseloads of 1 primary care centre between June 2016 and April 2020. We compared outcomes in patients treated with 8- to 10-day courses versus 5- to 7-day courses. ResultsThe analysis included 350 care episodes (252 patients). Sixty-four percent were managed with 8- to 10-day courses of antibiotherapy (group 1) and 36% with 5- to 7-day courses (group 2). There were no significant differences in the incidence of streptococcal pharyngitis or scarlet fever in the 3 months that followed (OR, 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46–2.03), with similar percentages in both groups (9.8% vs 9.5%). Overall, without differentiating based on the type of infection (streptococcal pharyngitis, scarlet fever or other streptococcal infections), we found similar outcomes (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.41–1.59): 13.4% in group 1 and 11.1% in group 2. We also found no differences in the frequency of adverse events documented in the health records (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.04–2.44): 2.7% in group 1 and 0.8% in group 2. ConclusionsIn our experience, a shorter antibiotic course (5–7 days) is not less effective or more unsafe for management of acute streptococcal pharyngitis than the traditional 10-day course.