Point of care testing for streptococcal sore throat: a review of diagnostic accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and guidelines
Polisena J, Spry C
Record ID 32011001279
English
Authors' recommendations:
The current evidence indicates that RADTs generally have a lower sensitivity compared with throat cultures for GABHS diagnosis. This is more evident in the pediatric population. Only one economic evaluation that compared the cost-utility of RADTs compared with throat cultures and other approaches (e.g., no testing, clinical score) was identified for GABHS diagnosis among children. The decision model concluded that throat cultures had the best cost-utility from a societal perspective.The Canadian guidelines by the Alberta Medical Association do not recommend the RADTs for the diagnosis of acute pharyngitis due to the low sensitivity, and the US guidelines recommend that RADTs be followed by throat cultures since the culture method is the most sensitive for GABHS. Since throat culture is the gold standard for testing, it may be sufficient for patients with a low risk for GABHS.Higher quality research will, in turn, support policy-makers in making informed decisions.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
http://www.cadth.ca/media/pdf/htis/L0088%20Point%20of%20Care%20Testing%20for%20Streptococcal%20Sore%20Throat%20final.pdf
Year Published:
2009
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Point-of-Care Systems
- Predictive Value of Tests
- Streptococcal Infections
Contact
Organisation Name:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Contact Address:
600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name:
requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email:
requests@cadth.ca
Copyright:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.