Evaluation of Viral and Bacterial Causes of Ex udative Pharyngitis in 3 to 15-year-old Children referred to the Clinics Affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Exudative pharyngitis is one of the common causes of children referral to medical centers. This problem is caused by various bacterial and viral causes. Antibiotics seem to be taken indiscriminately and irrationally. Investigation of bacterial and viral causes is useful for appropriate treatment. This study aimed to compare the bacterial and viral causes of exudative pharyngitis in children aged 3-15 years who referred to the clinics affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The study population consisted of children who presented with fever and sore throat and were diagnosed with exudative pharyngitis. Samples were taken from the nasopharynx with sterile swabs and sent to the laboratory to culture group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GAS) and molecular analysis of common viruses. The resulting information was recorded on the data collection form. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 using descriptive statistics, and an inference was made. The mean age of the study group was 7.33 years with a standard deviation of 3.05 and the mean age was 7 years. Most cases (42.6%) referred to the clinics in winter. The most common clinical symptoms were fever (86.9%), sudden onset of the symptoms (77%), sore throat (75.4%), and cough (67.2%), respectively. Seven cases (11.5%) were positive for GAS bacteria. Thirty-two cases (52.5%) were positive for the studied viruses. In housewives, the frequency of positive results in terms of bacteria was significantly lower than that in other occupations. The frequency of virus-positive samples in terms of demographic variables, bacteriological test results in terms of disease symptoms, virology test results in terms of disease symptoms, and comparison of clinical signs and symptoms in the positive group in terms of bacteria and virus were not significant (P > 0.05). Viral causes of exudative pharyngitis are more than bacterial causes. If cultured and laboratory diagnosis is available, it is best to identify the causes of pharyngitis before starting treatment with antibiotics.