[Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus frequency in the throat of symptomatic patients younger than 15 years, by age group].

Acute pharyngitis is a frequent pediatric consultation, being group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS) the main bacterial etiology. GABHS screening is controversial in children less than 5 years, because of the low frequency historically reported. Nevertheless, 24% prevalence was recently estimated in this group. The aim of this study was to estimate the GABHS frequency in symptomatic children less than 15 years, for which we performed a retrospective, cross sectional study, to evaluate its presence in the throat of 6691 patients, during 2010. The maximum frequency was observed in children from 5 to 11 years. For children aged 3 and 4, frequency was estimated at 36%, thus seeming to be mandatory to do the screening, as it is done in older children. In younger children, the epidemiology of each patient should be considered before asking for diagnostic tests.