Acute pharyngitis
– one of the most common reasons for visiting an ENT doctor.
The clinical picture of the disease is dominated by sore throat, however, like any infectious and inflammatory disease, acute pharyngitis can be accompanied by fever, swelling of the mucous membrane and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.
Despite the fact that bacterial pharyngitis is much less common than viral pharyngitis, most patients are prescribed antibiotic treatment.
Causes of pharyngitis
Many different microorganisms cause acute pharyngitis:
- influenza virus,
- flu couple,
- rhinoviruses,
- coronaviruses,
- adenoviruses,
- herpes simplex virus,
- Ebstein-Barr virus,
- human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), etc.
The most common bacterial agent is group A streptococcus (causes about 10% of all viral pharyngitis in adults).
Other causes of bacterial pharyngitis include: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, group C and G streptococci, Arcanobacterium haemolyticum and Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
Unfortunately, the cause of acute pharyngitis cannot be determined using PCR, since the human oropharynx is not sterile and always contains abundant flora. Bacteriological methods (cultures) require several days to establish the result, and therapy should be prescribed immediately.
Group A streptococci are the most important cause of pharyngitis, which must be recognized in order to promptly prescribe treatment.
If adequate antibiotic therapy is not prescribed on time, the risk of complications such as peritonsillar abscess, rheumatic fever, heart and kidney damage increases.
The Centor criteria help to recognize acute streptococcal pharyngitis:
- sudden onset of sore throat,
- plaques on the tonsils,
- painful enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes,
- fever in the absence of cough and runny nose.
Treatment of acute pharyngitis
Treatment with antibiotics is indicated in cases where 3 out of 4 signs are positive. Additionally, laboratory diagnostics are indicated (culture to isolate group A streptococcus).
There are at least 4 reasons for treating streptococcal pharyngitis with antibiotics:
- to prevent such a formidable complication as the development of rheumatism, which is still a problem, especially in children in regions with a low standard of living;
- to prevent the development of tonsillar or paratonsillar abscess;
- to quickly reduce sore throat and symptoms such as fever, general malaise, soreness of the lymph nodes;
- to stop further spread of infection.
In most adults, acute pharyngitis resolves without any consequences and complete recovery occurs.
To alleviate the condition, the use of symptomatic drugs is indicated: antipyretics, drinking plenty of fluids, gargling.
Patients with a history of risk factors for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with suspected gonococcal pharyngitis, infectious mononucleosis or diphtheria infection in the presence of membraneous deposits on the tonsils, need differential diagnosis. In these cases, serological diagnostics and/or microbiological studies are additionally indicated.
In our medical center Prima Medica (m. Kaluzhskaya) you can undergo all the necessary diagnostics and ENT consultation. Check prices in the section Prices for services.