| Methods |
Unblinded randomised trial |
| Participants |
716 patients aged 4 years and over, presenting to their GP with a sore throat, with an abnormal physical finding localised to the throat (e.g. inflamed tonsils or pharynx, etc.) |
| Interventions |
Participants were randomised to 3 groups. Participants in the first group were given an antibiotic for 10 days; those in the second group were given no prescription; and in the third group were given an offer of antibiotic prescription if the symptoms were not starting to settle after 3 days |
| Outcomes |
Main outcomes ‐ duration of symptoms, satisfaction and compliance with and perceived efficacy of antibiotics, time off school or work. Participants given a daily diary in which to record symptoms and temperature. Participants who did not return diaries were followed up over the phone |
| Notes |
Participants randomised, but neither participants nor doctors blinded to the therapy |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Low risk |
|
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
High risk |
|
| Blinding (performance bias and detection bias)
All outcomes |
High risk |
No blinding of participants or assessors was performed |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes |
Low risk |
No attrition of participants |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) |
Low risk |
All relevant outcomes reported |
