Predictive Factors for Medical Consultation for Sore Throat in Adults with Recurrent Pharyngotonsillitis

Objects. To seek patient- and episode-related factors that associate with medical consultation for acute sore throat because these factors may affect the patient being referred to specialist care and tonsillectomy for recurrent pharyngotonsillitis. Methods. In a secondary analysis of two prior randomised controlled trials, sore throat episodes and medical visits were explored among 156 adult patients referred for tonsillectomy because of recurrent pharyngotonsillitis. Results. The 156 patients (104 females, mean age of 26 years) suffered from 208 acute pharyngotonsillitis episodes during 5-6 months of follow-up. Forty (25%) patients visited a physician, and female gender (adjusted hazard ratio, HR, 3.3; 95% confidence interval 1.4-8.0) and finding of chronically infected tonsils (HR 2.7; 1.2-6.1) were associated with medical consultation. Thirty-six (17%) episodes led to medical consultation during the first 7 days of symptoms. Presence of severe throat pain was related to medical visit (HR 4.3; 1.0-18.5). Conclusions. Even among patients with recurrent pharyngotonsillitis, the acute sore throat episodes were usually mild and only few resulted in medical consultation, with female gender, chronically infected tonsils, and having severe throat pain increasing the consultation rate.