Group C streptococci isolated from throat swabs: a laboratory and clinical study.

Abstract

Aims-To determine the prevalence of haemolytic, Lancefield group C streptococci in throat swabs taken in routine clinical practice, and correlate the species identified with presenting clinical features. Methods-One year, laboratory based prospective study, using a questionnaire to elicit clinical information. Results-4.4% of throat swabs yielded group C streptococci, of which 38% belonged to S equisimilis and 53% to S anginosus-milleri group (SAM). Pyrexia was more common in patients with S equisimilis, but other clinical features did not diVer significantly between the two groups. No S zooepidemicus was isolated. Conclusions-Species identification of group C streptococci from throat swabs does not appear to be clinically useful in this patient population. However, the prevalence and spectrum of organisms is similar to that reported in N America, where studies suggest a possible role in some cases of severe pharyngitis. Observational studies such as this lack power to resolve the issue of pathogenicity, for which a placebo controlled trial of antibiotic treatment is ideally required. (J Clin Pathol 1999;52:264-266)

Prevalence of β-hemolytic groups C and F streptococci in patients with acute pharyngitis

“…The percentage of positive isolates (6.2%) belonged to the SAG among all β-hemolytic streptococci collected from throat swabs in the present study was higher than that recorded by other studies[ 23 ] that reported that 4.4% of throat swabs were positive for group C streptococci. This could be attributed to many factors such as cultural, ecological, and others (e.g., using antibiotics without medical roles).…”

Group C beta hemolytic Streptococci as a potential pathogen in patients presenting with an uncomplicated acute sore throat – a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

“…Twenty-nine did not have data specific for GCS [19,26,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] not published in English [50,51], found to be isolated case reports not relevant to the research question [52][53][54][55][56][57]. Furthermore, 16 studies were excluded since they were not case-control studies [4][5][6]26,[58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]. It was not possible despite best efforts to obtain full text for one article [70].…”

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome: Rheumatic heart disease of the fetus?

“…In some populations (for example Australian aborigines, see later) and certain seasons, the rate of positive throat cultures credited to these other streptococci have been as high as 10% [27,28]. Further, both group G and group C streptococci have been implicated as causing rheumatic fever in previously healthy adults and children [29][30][31].…”