Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients in treatment groups. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Duration of pencillin treatment
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days (n=190) | 3 days (n=194) | 0 days (n=177) | |
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 28 (9) | 28 (9) | 28 (9) |
| Male | 74 (39) | 70 (36) | 69 (39) |
| Healthcare insurance* | 139 (73) | 144 (74) | 124 (70) |
| >3 household members | 95 (50) | 107 (55) | 113 (64) |
| Urbanisation (>30 000 inhabitants) | 99 (52) | 103 (53) | 92 (52) |
| Season (Oct-Mar) | 131 (69) | 146 (75) | 129 (73) |
| Medical history | |||
| History of tonsillectomy | 34 (18) | 39 (20) | 32 (18) |
| Smoker (>4 cigarettes/day) | 65 (34) | 50 (26) | 37 (21) |
| Sore throat in previous 6 months† | 11 (6) | 14 (7) | 19 (11) |
| Upper respiratory tract infection in previous 6 months† | 21 (11) | 27 (14) | 28 (16) |
| Clinical presentation | |||
| Sore throat >3 days | 76 (40) | 68 (35) | 60 (34) |
| Absence from school or work‡ | 92 (86)§ | 92 (86)§ | 83 (86)¶ |
| Fever (reported) | 163 (86) | 165 (85) | 156 (88) |
| Absence of cough | 167 (88) | 165 (85) | 145 (82) |
| Tonsillar exudate | 156 (82) | 157 (81) | 142 (80) |
| Swollen anterior cervical lymph nodes | 181 (95) | 182 (94) | 166 (94) |
| All four Centor criteria present | 99 (52) | 87 (45) | 80 (45) |
| Streptococci positive culture | |||
| Group A | 92 (49) | 96 (50) | 92 (52) |
| Group C | 24 (13) | 26 (13) | 17 (10) |
| Group G | 18 (9) | 12 (6) | 14 (8) |
| Other serogroups | 18 (9) | 18 (9) | 15 (8) |
| Streptococci negative culture | 38 (20) | 42 (22) | 39 (22) |
*
Public health plan.
†
At least one patient-doctor encounter for this reason in the previous 6 months.
‡
Calculated for those who should have attended school or work that day (n=311).
§
n=107.
¶
n=97.