Best Assessment of Sore Throat and Antibiotic Prescribing

Last updated: April 24, 2024
Sponsor: Vastra Gotaland Region
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Pharyngitis

Treatment

Pharmacists assess patients

Physicians assess patients

Nurses assess patients

Clinical Study ID

NCT06114706
U1111-1299-3543
  • Ages > 6
  • All Genders

Study Summary

This project aims to investigate if an organisational change of patient flow away from medical practitioners can reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in patients attending with a sore throat as the main complaint.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

  • The patient is contacting/attending PHC centre or Pharmacy presenting with a sorethroat as the main complaint.
  • Male or female, aged ≥6 years.
  • Fluent in Swedish (reading, writing, conversational) (applicable tocaregivers/parents/guardians in case of children).
  • Mental state such that he or she can understand and give informed consent toparticipation in the study by signing the Information and Consent Form.
  • Provision of signed and dated Informed Consent Form.

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The illness episode is classified as potentially complicated or potentially criticallyill
  • Presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a patient first appearing at the PHC in a clusterwhere the assessment is supposed to be done by the pharmacists. The patient will notbe sent to the pharmacist in case of presence of SARS-CoV-2-virus.
  • Patient request to be withdrawn from the study.

Study Design

Total Participants: 450
Treatment Group(s): 3
Primary Treatment: Pharmacists assess patients
Phase:
Study Start date:
March 04, 2024
Estimated Completion Date:
December 31, 2026

Study Description

Today patients appear either at a PHC centre or at the Pharmacy. The Pharmacy may provide advice on analgesic or refer the patient to a PHC centre. At the PHC centre, the patient may first appear to the medical practitioner or a nurse pending on local routines. The current Swedish guideline recommends no antibiotics and no testing for patients with 0-2 Centor criteria. For patients with 3-4 Centor criteria the guideline recommends testing and only consider antibiotics if GAS is present.

COVID-19 has gradually transformed from expressing itself as a severe lower respiratory tract infection to be more of an upper respiratory tract infection. Furthermore, COVID-19 is likely to transform from a pandemic to an endemic state with a low continuous incidence. Hence, in response to COVID-19 it seems crucial to identify to what extent the common sore throat is caused by the SARS-CoV-2.

Furthermore, a large controlled clinical trial is required to sort out if patients attending with a sore throat as the main complaint are best managed by medical practitioners, nurses or pharmacists. This study aims to perform such a controlled clinical trial comparing the outcome of sore throat patients management by medical practitioner, nurses and pharmacists. This study also aims to investigate to what extent the SARS-CoV-2 virus is identified in these patients.

Connect with a study center

  • Apoteket

    Stenungsund, 4430
    Sweden

    Active - Recruiting

  • Närhälsan Stenungsund Vårdcentral

    Stenungsund, 44430
    Sweden

    Active - Recruiting

  • Apoteksgruppen

    Ulricehamn,
    Sweden

    Active - Recruiting

  • Praktikertjänst Hälsobrunnen Vårdcentral

    Ulricehamn, 52337
    Sweden

    Active - Recruiting

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