News

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released new guidelines for diagnosing strep throat, recommending the use of scoring systems to help determine which patients should be tested for group A streptococcal pharyngitis. The Centor tool assigns one point for each of the following symptoms: tonsillar swelling, lymph node swelling, fever, and absence of cough. The McIsaac system considers a person's age, adding a point for patients 3-14 years of age and subtracting a point for those over the age of 45 years. Scores of 0-1 indicate low likelihood of strep throat, meaning testing is not recommended.