Rimoin 2010c.

Study characteristics
Patient sampling	See Rimoin 2010a
Patient characteristics and setting	Sample size: 1626 Age (distribution): mean (SD) = 4.8 (0.06) years GAS prevalence according to culture (with 95% confidence interval): 26.4% (95% CI not reported) Country of study: Egypt Sex (% of girls): 42.3% Clinical severity assessment: Centor score Clinical setting: walk‐in clinic Multi‐centre study (see Rimoin 2010a)
Index tests	See Rimoin 2010a
Target condition and reference standard(s)	See Rimoin 2010a
Flow and timing	No follow‐up
Comparative
Type of study	Journal article
Notes	See Rimoin 2010a
Methodological quality
Item	Authors' judgement	Risk of bias	Applicability concerns
DOMAIN 1: Patient Selection
Was a consecutive or random sample of patients enrolled?	Yes
Was it a cross‐sectional study or a RCT?	Yes
Were selection criteria clearly described (at least presenting signs and symptoms and age limits for inclusion)?	Yes
Was clinical selection of patients avoided?	Yes
Were patients seen in an ambulatory care setting?	Yes
		Low	Low
DOMAIN 2: Index Test All tests
Were the RADT results interpreted with blinding of the results of culture?	Unclear
Was the type of the RADT mentioned (EIA or OIA)?	Yes
Were RADTs conducted during consultation time?	No
		Unclear	High
DOMAIN 3: Reference Standard
Were culture results interpreted with blinding of the results of the RADT?	Unclear
Is the throat culture method likely to correctly identify GAS (laboratory culture on a blood agar plate during 48 hr)?	Yes
Were the culture medium, atmosphere, duration of incubation and GAS‐confirmation technique described?	Yes
		Unclear	Low
DOMAIN 4: Flow and Timing
Was the delay between the performance of the RADT and throat culture plating less than 48 hours?	Unclear
Did all patients receive a throat culture?	Yes
Did patients receive the same throat culture method?	Yes
Were undetermined/uninterpretable results reported?	No
Were withdrawals from the study explained?	Yes
		Low