• Objective:
To determine whether β-hemolytic streptococci from groups other than A are an important cause of sporadic pharyngitis in children.
Design:
Cross-sectional, case-referent survey.
Setting:
General pediatric clinic at a military base in Ohio.
Participants:
One hundred fifty children with symptomatic pharyngitis and 150 controls matched for age and time of presentation over a 20-month study period.
Interventions:
None.
Measurements/Main Results:
Anaerobic culture technique was used to improve isolation of β-hemolytic streptococci. Group A β-hemolytic streptococci were detected significantly more often among the ill children than among the controls (39% vs 16%, respectively). In contrast, non–group A β-hemolytic streptococci were isolated in similar frequency from the ill and control children (17% vs 21%, respectively). Non–group A β-hemolytic streptococci from groups B, C, F, and G were each isolated in similar frequency among the ill and control children. The isolation rate of non–group A organisms increased with age among both patients and controls.
Conclusions:
Non–group A β-hemolytic streptococci seemed not to be an important cause of sporadic pharyngitis in this pediatric population.(AJDC. 1989;143:794-797)