Group A Streptococcus pharyngitis in Children: New Perspectives on Rapid Diagnostic Testing and Antimicrobial Stewardship.

The most common cause of bacterial pharyngitis is Group A Streptococcus (GAS). Accurate diagnosis of GAS pharyngitis is crucial to identify children who would benefit from antibiotic treatment. Rapid diagnosis has the potential to reduce antibiotic overuse.

Performance of a Molecular Test for Group A Streptococcus Pharyngitis.

We performed a prospective study to determine if the pretest probability of a positive loop-mediated isothermal amplification test is greater when there are more signs and symptoms of GAS pharyngitis. Patients were enrolled if a clinician obtained a GAS RADT. The McIsaac score was calculated.

Standardization of Epidemiological Surveillance of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis.

Pharyngitis, more commonly known as sore throat, is caused by viral and/or bacterial infections. Group A (Strep A) is the most common bacterial cause of pharyngitis. Strep A pharyngitis is an acute, self-limiting disease but if undertreated can lead to suppurative complications, nonsuppurative poststreptococcal immune-mediated diseases, and toxigenic presentations.

Practicing What We Preach: An Effort to Improve Safe Sleep of Hospitalized Infants.

Introduction: To prevent sudden unexpected infant death, pediatric providers recommend the ABCs of infant sleep: Alone, on the Back, and in an empty Crib. This study's objective was to document sleep practices of infants admitted to a large children's hospital, examine adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep guidelines, and develop interventions to improve guideline adherence.

Methods: We conducted a pre/post quality improvement study at a single quaternary care medical center from 2015 to 2019.

Natural history of burnout, stress, and fatigue in a pediatric resident cohort over three years.

Background: Burnout is known to be high amongst physician trainees. Factors such as stress, fatigue, social environment, and resilience could affect burnout. Cross-sectional data describe burnout in pediatric residents, but the trajectory of burnout in a cohort of residents followed longitudinally through the full course of residency training has not been reported.

Natural Clostridioides difficile Toxin Immunization in Colonized Infants.

Background: Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile colonization is common among infants. Serological sequelae of infant C. difficile colonization are poorly understood.

Highly Sensitive Molecular Assay for Group A Streptococci Over-identifies Carriers and May Impact Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship.

Background: Timely, accurate diagnosis of group A streptococci (GAS) pharyngitis prevents acute rheumatic fever and limits antibiotic overuse. The illumigene group A Streptococcus assay (Meridian Bioscience, Cincinnati, OH) is a molecular test for GAS pharyngitis with high sensitivity and specificity. We sought to determine whether the illumigene test is more likely than throat culture to be positive in patients without pharyngeal symptoms and explore the limits of detection of the test.

Caution Needed: Molecular Diagnosis of Pediatric Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis.

Among throat swabs processed in the microbiology laboratory as back-up for negative rapid antigen detection test results, we found a significant increase in the proportion that tested positive for group A streptococci after changing from throat culture to a molecular test.For group A streptococcus testing, our hospital laboratory replaced throat cultures with a stand-alone molecular diagnostic test that takes no more than 1 hour to perform. The prevalence of positive laboratory test results increased significantly (P < .

Differences in SpeB protease activity among group A streptococci associated with superficial, invasive, and autoimmune disease.

The secreted cysteine proteinase SpeB is an important virulence factor of group A streptococci (GAS), whereby SpeB activity varies widely among strains. To establish the degree to which SpeB activity correlates with disease, GAS organisms were recovered from patients with pharyngitis, impetigo, invasive disease or acute rheumatic fever (ARF), and selected for analysis using rigorous sampling criteria; >300 GAS isolates were tested for SpeB activity by casein digestion assays, and each GAS isolate was scored as a SpeB-producer or non-producer. Highly significant statistical differences (p < 0.

Epidemic Adolescent Binge Drinking at Lollapalooza, A Music Festival in Chicago.

Objectives: Lollapalooza (LP) is an annual 3-day outdoor music festival in Chicago. Underage drinking and drug use are believed to be common, but the burden on emergency departments (EDs) has not been documented. We assessed the burden on health care resources associated with this music festival.

Diagnosis and Screening of Overweight and Obese Children in a Resident Continuity Clinic.

Objective. To evaluate the association between documenting excess weight and ordering screening tests. Methods.

Unfilled prescriptions in pediatric primary care.

Background And Objectives: Filling a prescription is the important first step in medication adherence, but has not been studied in pediatric primary care. The objective of this study was to use claims data to determine the rate of unfilled prescriptions in pediatric primary care and examine factors associated with prescription filling.

Methods: This retrospective observational study of pediatric primary care patients compares prescription data from an electronic medical record with insurance claims data.

Physicians' opinions about critical attributes of a potential group A streptococcal vaccine.

A group A streptococcal (GAS) vaccine, while not currently available, offers the possibility of a more effective approach; however, barriers to its implementation are likely to exist. The objectives of this study were to describe the attitudes of physicians about the importance of preventing GAS-associated conditions and to identify potential barriers to vaccine implementation. Surveys were sent to randomly selected physicians from the AAP and the AAFP.