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Should Routine Throat Cultures Be Done in Hospital Personnel Complaining of a Sore Throat?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Chatrchai Watanakunakorn
Chatrchai Watanakunakorn*
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Section, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center, Youngstown, Ohio and the NortheasternOhio University College of Medicine, Youngstown, Ohio
*
Infectious Disease Section, St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center, Youngstown, OH 44501
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Abstract

In a 750-bed community-teaching hospital with 3,200 employees, throat cultures were routinely done in hospital personnel complaining of a sore throat. During a 3-month period, 323 employees had throat cultures; only 20 (6.2%) of these throat cultures grew group A streptococcus. The prevalence of positive throat cultures was similarly low in employees (6.2%) and adult patients (7.3%). There was no evidence that employees either had higher prevalence of group A streptococcal pharyngitis or that they spread the infection to patients. It is concluded that routine throat cultures are not warranted in employees complaining of a sore throat, and that throat cultures should be done only selectively in hospital personnel with a high probability of group A streptococcal pharyngitis.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 6 , Issue 5 , May 1985 , pp. 183 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1985

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