Table 1.
Etiology of acute pharyngitis
| Etiologic agent | Associated disorders or clinical findings |
|---|---|
| Bacterial | |
| Streptococci | |
| Group A | Scarlet fever |
| Groups C and G | |
| Mixed anaerobes | Vincent's angina |
| Neisseria gonorrhoeae | |
| Corynebacterium diphtheriae | Diphtheria |
| Arcanobacterium haemolyticum | Scarlatiniform rash |
| Yersinia enterocolitica | Enterocolitis |
| Yersinia pestis | Plague |
| Francisella tularensis | Tularemia (oropharyngeal form) |
| Viral | |
| Rhinovirus | Common cold |
| Coronavirus | Common cold |
| Adenovirus | Pharyngoconjunctival fever; acute respiratory disease |
| Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 | Gingivostomatitis |
| Parainfluenza virus | Common cold; croup |
| Coxsackievirus A | Herpangina; hand-foot-and-mouth disease |
| Epstein-Barr virus | Infectious mononucleosis |
| Cytomegalovirus | Cytomegalovirus mononucleosis |
| HIV | Primary HIV infection |
| Influenza A and B viruses | Influenza |
| Mycoplasmal: Mycoplasma pneumoniae | Acute respiratory disease; pneumonia |
| Chlamydial | |
| Chlamydia psittaci | Acute respiratory disease; pneumonia |
| Chlamydia pneumoniae | Pneumonia |
Modified from Bisno AL, Gerber MA, Gwaltney JM, Kaplan EL, Schwartz RH. Practice guideline for the diagnosis and management of group A streptococcal pharyngitis. Clin Infect Dis 2002;35:113–25.