OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity of the Centor score (cervical adenopathy, tonsillar exudate, fever, and absence of catarrh symptoms) in diagnosing streptococcal pharyngitis (gold standard: throat swab). DESIGN: Descriptive study. SETTING: San Fernando 2 Health Centre, Madrid (outer urban area), Spain. PARTICIPANTS: On hundred forty patients over 14 years old who had a "sore throat" as main symptom and attended clinic between 14 February and 12 May, 2005. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and the probability quotients of the Centor score were determined. Pharyngeal throat culture was used as the reference method. RESULTS: Thirty four patients had positive throat culture (24.3%; 95% CI, 17.6%-32.4%). Finding the 4 criteria in the Centor score had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 48.1% (95% CI, 30.7%-66.0%) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.4% (95% CI, 73.3%-87.5%); although only fever (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.40-9.49) and tonsillar exudate (OR, 6.18; 95% CI, 2.08-18.35) were linked to streptococcal aetiology. CONCLUSIONS: The high NPV and specificity of the clinical score makes the diagnosis of non-streptococcal pharyngitis very accurate. However, the PPV is low: a high Centor score (3 or 4 criteria) does not mean streptococcal pharyngitis with certainty. What approach to take with patients suspected of streptococcal pharyngitis is not yet resolved (microbiological test, early antibiotic, or postponed antibiotic).
OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity of the Centor score (cervical adenopathy, tonsillar exudate, fever, and absence of catarrh symptoms) in diagnosing streptococcal pharyngitis (gold standard: throat swab). DESIGN: Descriptive study. SETTING: San Fernando 2 Health Centre, Madrid (outer urban area), Spain. PARTICIPANTS: On hundred forty patients over 14 years old who had a "sore throat" as main symptom and attended clinic between 14 February and 12 May, 2005. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and the probability quotients of the Centor score were determined. Pharyngeal throat culture was used as the reference method. RESULTS: Thirty four patients had positive throat culture (24.3%; 95% CI, 17.6%-32.4%). Finding the 4 criteria in the Centor score had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 48.1% (95% CI, 30.7%-66.0%) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.4% (95% CI, 73.3%-87.5%); although only fever (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.40-9.49) and tonsillar exudate (OR, 6.18; 95% CI, 2.08-18.35) were linked to streptococcal aetiology. CONCLUSIONS: The high NPV and specificity of the clinical score makes the diagnosis of non-streptococcal pharyngitis very accurate. However, the PPV is low: a high Centor score (3 or 4 criteria) does not mean streptococcal pharyngitis with certainty. What approach to take with patients suspected of streptococcal pharyngitis is not yet resolved (microbiological test, early antibiotic, or postponed antibiotic).
Authors: Alan L Bisno; Michael A Gerber; Jack M Gwaltney; Edward L Kaplan; Richard H Schwartz Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2002-07-15 Impact factor: 9.079
Authors: R J Cooper; J R Hoffman; J G Bartlett; R E Besser; R Gonzales; J M Hickner; M A Sande Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2001-03-20 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Carolina Giraldez-Garcia; Beltran Rubio; Jose F Gallegos-Braun; Iñaki Imaz; Jesus Gonzalez-Enriquez; Antonio Sarria-Santamera Journal: Eur J Pediatr Date: 2011-02-11 Impact factor: 3.183