Table 2.
Association between various patient- and episode-related factors and having a medical consultation during an episode of acute pharyngotonsillitis in a material based on two randomised trials in Finland [2, 3].
| Characteristic | Hazard ratio∗ | 95% Confidence interval∗ | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient-related (N = 156 patients) | ||||
| Age | ≤20 or >30 years | 1.0 | 0.40 | |
| 21–30 years | 0.7 | 0.4–1.5 | ||
| Sex | Male | 1.0 | <0.01 | |
| Female | 3.3 | 1.4–8.0 | ||
| Tobacco use | No | 1.0 | 0.17 | |
| Yes | 0.6 | 0.3–1.2 | ||
| Prior streptococcal | No | 1.0 | 0.51 | |
| pharyngotonsillitis | Yes | 1.3 | 0.6–3.3 | |
| Frequent episodes of | No | 1.0 | 0.59 | |
| pharyngotonsillitis∗∗ | Yes | 1.2 | 0.6–2.3 | |
| Chronically infected | No | 1.0 | 0.01 | |
| tonsils† | Yes | 2.7 | 1.2–6.1 | |
|
| ||||
| Episode-related (N = 208 acute pharyngotonsillitis episodes) | ||||
| Postoperative episode | 1.0 | 0.62 | ||
| Preoperative episode | 1.5 | 0.3–6.7 | ||
| Maximum throat pain‡ | Mild | 1.0 | ||
| Moderate | 1.6 | 0.5–5.8 | 0.44 | |
| Severe | 4.3 | 1.0–18.6 | 0.05 | |
| Fever | No | 1.0 | 0.62 | |
| Yes | 0.7 | 0.2–2.3 | ||
| Other respiratory | No | 1.0 | 0.83 | |
| symptoms | Yes | 1.1 | 0.4–3.1 | |
∗Cox regression model.
∗∗>3 episodes in 6 months.
†Found at clinical examination at enrolment.
‡Calculated among those episodes, where data on severity of throat pain was available (N = 135).