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The Centor criteria are a set of criteria which may be used to identify the likelihood of a bacterial infection in patients complaining of a sore throat. They were developed as a method to quickly diagnose the presence of Group A streptococcal infection or diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis in "adult patients who presented to an urban emergency room complaining of a sore throat."
The modified Centor criteria may be used to determine the management of people with pharyngitis. Based on five clinical criteria, it indicates the probability of a streptococcal infection. [21] One point is given for each of the criteria: [21] Absence of a cough; Swollen and tender cervical lymph nodes; Temperature more than 38.0 °C (100.4 °F)
Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as streptococcal sore throat (strep throat), is pharyngitis (an infection of the pharynx, the back of the throat) caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, a gram-positive, group A streptococcus. [9] [10] Common symptoms include fever, sore throat, red tonsils, and enlarged lymph nodes in the front of the neck.
The two most prominent infections of GAS are both non-invasive: strep throat (pharyngitis) where it causes 15–30% of the childhood cases and 10% of adult cases, and impetigo. [4] These may be effectively treated with antibiotics. Scarlet fever is also a non-invasive infection caused by GAS, although much less common.
A 2015 study of young adult students presenting to a single clinic in Alabama had F. necrophorum as the predominant causative organism for pharyngitis 21% of the time (and found in 9% of asymptomatic students). [11] In the same study, Group A Streptococcus was found in 10% of pharyngitis patients (1% of asymptomatic students).
Both conditions appear several weeks following the initial streptococcal infection. Rheumatic fever is characterized by inflammation of the joints and/or heart following an episode of streptococcal pharyngitis. Acute glomerulonephritis, inflammation of the renal glomerulus, can follow streptococcal pharyngitis or skin infection. [citation needed]
Other causes include other bacterial infections (such as group A streptococcus or streptococcal pharyngitis), trauma, and tumors. [3] Gastroesophageal (acid) reflux disease can cause stomach acid to back up into the throat and also cause the throat to become sore. [5] In children, streptococcal pharyngitis is the cause of 35–37% of sore ...
A modified version of the Centor criteria, which modified the original Centor criteria in 1998, is often used to aid in diagnosis. The original Centor criteria had four major criteria but the modified Centor criteria have five. The five major criteria of the modified Centor score are: Presence of tonsillar exudate; Painful neck lymph nodes