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J Med Case Rep 2021 May 3;15(1):257. Epub 2021 May 3.

Department of General Internal Medicine 1, Kawasaki Medical School, 2-6-1 Nakasange, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8505, Japan.

Background: Infectious mononucleosis (IM) and mononucleosis-like illnesses are common viral infectious diseases which are often accompanied by a high fever, pharyngitis and lymphadenopathy in adults, although such infection in childhood is generally subclinical. Most cases of IM are caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or Cytomegalovirus (CMV). However, it is difficult to diagnose IM only with subjective symptoms, and thus EBV and CMV are nearly indistinguishable in clinical practice. Read More

Antibiotics (Basel) 2021 Apr 16;10(4). Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Epidemiology, IQVIA Germany, 60549 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Background: The goal of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of patient and physician related variables associated with antibiotic prescriptions in patients diagnosed with acute lower and upper respiratory tract infections (ALURTI), treated in general practices (GP) and pediatric practices, in Germany.

Methods: The analysis included 1,140,095 adult individuals in 1237 general practices and 309,059 children and adolescents in 236 pediatric practices, from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA), who had received at least one diagnosis of an ALURTI between 1 January 2015 and 31 March 2019. We estimated the association between 35 predefined variables and antibiotic prescription using multivariate logistic regression models, separately for general and pediatric practices. Read More

Neurohospitalist 2021 Jan 16;11(1):62-65. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

Department of Medicine and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

West Nile virus is an emerging infection in North America but has not traditionally been associated with acute vascular events. We report a 57-year-old healthy male who developed pharyngitis and a corporeal rash, followed 1 week later by an acute cryptogenic stroke. Following successful endovascular thrombectomy, cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed acute West Nile virus infection. Read More

Drugs Context 2021 26;10. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The goal of this narrative review of pharyngitis is to summarize the practical aspects of the management of sore throat in children in high- and middle-income countries. A traditional review of the literature was performed. Most cases of pharyngitis are viral and self-limited, although rarely viral pharyngitis due to Epstein-Barr leads to airway obstruction. Read More

Case Rep Infect Dis 2021 12;2021:6623834. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Amir Alam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Infectious mononucleosis (IM) due to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is usually self-limited. It presents with fever, pharyngitis, fatigue, and cervical lymph node enlargement. It is common among adolescents and young adults. Read More

J Med Case Rep 2021 Mar 26;15(1):171. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Internal Medicine, Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Male' 20002, Maldives.

Background: The pandemic of this century has overwhelmed the healthcare systems of affected countries, and all resources have been diverted to coronavirus disease 2019. At the onset, coronavirus disease 2019 can present as any other acute febrile undifferentiated illness. In tropical regions, clinicians are increasingly challenged to differentiate these febrile illnesses without the use of diagnostics. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2021 Mar 22:114066. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Institute of Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Liu Shen Wan (LSW) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with detoxification and antiphlogistic activity; it is composed of bezoar, toad venom, musk, pearl powder, borneol and realgar. In recent years, LSW has been widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of influenza, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, mumps, cancer and leukaemia.

Aim Of Study: The anti-influenza virus properties of LSW and its inhibition of the inflammatory response was demonstrated in our previous research; however, the effect and potential mechanism of LSW against influenza induced secondary bacteria have remained obscure. Read More

J Am Coll Health 2021 Mar 24:1-5. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Division of Ambulatory Care, Department of Emergency Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.

Familiarity breeds complacency. One case of sore throat can start to sound like another. However, even common viral and bacterial infections can lead to serious sequelae. Read More

Acad Pediatr 2021 Mar 16. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Objective: Regulatory and payment changes associated with COVID-19 facilitated wide-spread use of telehealth within pediatric primary care starting in March 2020. Given prior quality concerns about antibiotic management for children during telemedicine visits outside of primary care, we sought to examine acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) visit volume and antibiotic management for children via telemedicine integrated within pediatric primary care.

Methods: Using electronic health record data from 47 practices within a large pediatric primary care network, we identified visits for ARTI from April to September 2020. Read More

Br J Biomed Sci 2021 Apr 14:1-10. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Biological Sciences, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland.

EBV is the sole causative agent of the acute illness in humans described either as infectious mononucleosis (IM), or glandular fever. IM, when not clinically silent, can present in patients with at least two of the classic triad of symptoms of fever, pharyngitis, and lymphadenopathy. Challenges for the clinician arise when atypical cases present. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Mar 10;21(1):252. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Department of Infectious Disease, Tokyo Medical University Hospital, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0023, Japan.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important pathogen among immunocompromised hosts. Typically, CMV in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection causes diseases of the retina, digestive tract, lungs and liver, but there are few cases of CMV infection of the pharynx and larynx.

Case Presentation: A 57-year-old man with HIV infection was admitted because of pharyngeal pain. Read More

Public Health Nurs 2021 Mar 2. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

School of Health Service Management, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.

Objectives: This study used available data to analyze the prevalence and influencing factors of various Respiratory tract infections (RTIs), to better our understanding of the local and national epidemiology, and to inform future prevention and control programs.

Design: We used a structured questionnaire to solicit information about social demographics and symptoms of the last RTI administered with stratified clustered randomized sampling. Descriptive analysis was used to investigate the reported symptoms, and multivariate logistic regression models to identify relationships between the prevalence and influencing factors of common RTIs. Read More

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2021 Feb;46(4):877-884

Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Ji'nan 250014,China.

Based on the network pharmacology and molecular docking method to explore the molecular mechanism of Shengjiang Powder in treating chronic tonsillitis in children. This research first based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology(TCMSP) and the Bioinformatics Analysis Tools for Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine(BATMAN-TCM), the effective active ingredients of the drugs contained in Shengjiang Powder were screened out by the pharmacokinetic(ADME) parameters, the targets were predicted, and then chronic tonsillitis disease in children targets were obtained by GeneCards database. Afterwards, the target protein names were standardized by the Uniprot database. Read More

Artif Intell Med 2021 02 15;112:102018. Epub 2021 Jan 15.

Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Department of Newborn and Developmental Pediatrics, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Canada.

Background And Objective: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of April 3, 2020, there were 1,009,625 reported confirmed cases, and 51,737 reported deaths. Doctors have been faced with a myriad of patients who present with many different symptoms. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2021 Feb 5;14(2). Epub 2021 Feb 5.

Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Mataram University, Mataram, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia.

Two patients suffering from chronic recurrent tonsillitis were reported. The first patient was confirmed infected with COVID-19, 3 weeks prior to tonsillectomy. The detritus and tonsil specimen were further analysed through real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and revealed amplification of the fragment N and ORF1ab genes of SARS-CoV-2. Read More

Med J Malaysia 2021 01;76(1):24-28

Hospital Teluk Intan, Department of Internal Medicine, Perak, Malaysia.

Introduction: COVID-19 is a highly transmissible respiratory virus that has affected millions of people worldwide in the span of months. The burden of disease among healthcare workers (HCW) has not been well studied despite reports of infectivity and transmission around the world. Two HCW in Hospital Teluk Intan (HTI) contracted COVID-19 while attending a social event. Read More

Vestn Otorinolaringol 2020 ;85(6):90-99

Moscow Regional Research and Clinical Institute (MONIKI), Moskow, Russia.

Acute tonsillopharyngitis is one of the most frequent reasons for visiting a doctor and prescribing inappropriate antibiotic therapy (ABT). There are several reasons for this - from the difficulties of etiological diagnosis and the development of relapses and possible severe complications to the personal attitude of doctors and patients to the choice of treatment. At the same time, the issue of antibiotic resistance and other aspects associated with the prescription of ABT is one of the most important problems of modern healthcare worldwide. Read More

West Afr J Med 2021 01;38(1):54-58

Clinical Sciences Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos State, Nigeria and College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to ravage the global community since it was declared a pandemic. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics defining the disease are mainly from Europe and Asia. The disease symptomatology is similar to the prevalent diseases in our environment, this could result in the delay in prompt identification and appropriate management of suspected cases toward combating community transmission. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Jan 7;21(1):31. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Unité d'Epidémiologie des maladies infectieuses, 36, Avenue Pasteur, Dakar, Sénégal.

Background: Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa. However, a lack of epidemiological data remains for this pathology, and the performances of the influenza-like illness (ILI) case definitions used for sentinel surveillance have never been evaluated in Senegal. This study aimed to i) assess the performance of three different ILI case definitions, adopted by the WHO, USA-CDC (CDC) and European-CDC (ECDC) and ii) identify clinical factors associated with a positive diagnosis for Influenza in order to develop an algorithm fitted for the Senegalese context. Read More

Head Neck Pathol 2020 Dec 28. Epub 2020 Dec 28.

Vanderbilt University Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1215 21st Ave. S. Suite 7209, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.

Supraglottitis is a life-threatening, predominantly bacterial disease that is rarely caused by viral etiologies. Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) supraglottitis has been infrequently reported, but its presentation can mimic that of bacterial supraglottitis or pharyngitis which may lead to delayed diagnosis and increased morbidity. We present a case of supraglottitis in an immunocompetent man initially thought to have bacterial epiglottitis. Read More

J Formos Med Assoc 2020 Dec 12. Epub 2020 Dec 12.

Center for Research, Diagnostics and Vaccine Development, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.

Background/purpose: Sapoviruses (SaVs) become important pathogens causing both sporadic and outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) after rotavirus vaccination era worldwide. SaVs were included in AGE screening items when norovirus and rotavirus were negative in Taiwan CDC since 2008. However, no complete SaV genome sequence of any genotype detected in Taiwan was determined. Read More

Arch Argent Pediatr 2020 12;118(6):418-426

Departamento de Medicina, Hospital General de Niños Pedro de Elizalde, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Introduction: Despite the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, the information about its development in pediatrics is still limited. This report describes the characteristics of patients admitted to a children's hospital due to COVID-19 during the first three months of the pandemic.

Method: Descriptive study including all patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 between 4/1/2020 and 6/30/2020. Read More

BMJ 2020 11 13;371:m4125. Epub 2020 Nov 13.

Quality of Care NL/Choosing Wisely NL, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020 15;10:563627. Epub 2020 Oct 15.

Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States.

The most common bacterial cause of pharyngitis is infection by Group A -hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS), commonly known as strep throat. 5-15% of adults and 15-35% of children in the United States with pharyngitis have a GABHS infection. The symptoms of GABHS overlap with non-GABHS and viral causes of acute pharyngitis, complicating the problem of diagnosis. Read More

Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 2020 Nov 9;90(4). Epub 2020 Nov 9.

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COVID-19 is a pandemic with over 5 million cases worldwide. The disease has imposed a huge burden on health resources. Evaluation of clinical and epidemiological profiles of such patients can help in understanding and managing the outbreak more efficiently. Read More

PLoS One 2020 4;15(11):e0241760. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Background And Objectives: Treatment guidelines do not recommend antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections (ARI), except for streptococcal pharyngitis/tonsillitis and pneumonia. However, antibiotics are prescribed frequently for children with ARI, often in absence of evidence for bacterial infection. The objectives of this study were 1) to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions for mild ARI in paediatric outpatients in relation to available guidelines and detected pathogens, 2) to assess antibiotic use on presentation using questionnaires and detection in urine 3) to assess the carriage rates and proportions of resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae before, during and after consultation. Read More

Vestn Otorinolaringol 2020 ;85(5):57-60

Veltischev Research and Clinical Institute for Pediatrics of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.

Acute respiratory infections (ORI) consistently occupy one of the leading places among infectious and inflammatory diseases in children. Most often, antibacterial drugs are used to stop the inflammatory process in the pharynx. Cationic peptides have an extremely broad antimicrobial spectrum, rendering the effect not only in bacterial infections and mycoses, and protozoans. Read More

J Prim Care Community Health 2020 Jan-Dec;11:2150132720966811

University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI, USA.

Background And Purpose: Acute viral respiratory infections (ARTIs) are among the most common reasons for a healthcare encounter throughout the industrialized world. Among the approximately100 million antibiotic prescriptions written every year for ARTI, half are prescribed inappropriately. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for viral illnesses poses a serious threat since many organisms have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Read More

Antibiotics (Basel) 2020 Oct 28;9(11). Epub 2020 Oct 28.

Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare Ltd., Slough SL1 3UH, UK.

Pharyngitis (also known as sore throat) is a common, predominately viral, self-limiting condition which can be symptomatically managed without antibiotic treatment. Inappropriate antibiotic use for pharyngitis contributes to the development and spread of antibiotic resistance. However, a small proportion of sore throats caused by group A streptococcal (GAS) infection may benefit from the provision of antibiotics. Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2020 Dec 23;139:110463. Epub 2020 Oct 23.

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan, United Kingdom.

Objectives: The coronavirus outbreak has triggered the implementation of nationwide social distancing measures. We aimed to investigate the impact on patients with recurrent tonsillitis and parental perceptions towards tonsillectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A telephone questionnaire was conducted for all children awaiting tonsillectomy for recurrent tonsillitis after social distancing for 2 months at our centre. Read More