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Updated Finnish Guidelines Did Not Change the Use of Antibiotics for Children's Sore Throats

Johanna Jääskeläinen1, Marjo Renko1,2, Ilari Kuitunen1,3

  • 1Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|April 12, 2025
PubMed

Insights

The 2020 Finnish Current Care Guideline update did not change antibiotic prescribing for pediatric pharyngitis in an emergency department. Amoxicillin use slightly increased, but overall patterns remained similar.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Clinical Guideline Implementation

Background:

  • Paediatric pharyngitis is a common reason for emergency department visits.
  • Antibiotic stewardship is crucial to combat antimicrobial resistance.
  • Current Care Guidelines aim to standardize and optimize treatment protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the effect of the 2020 Finnish Current Care Guideline update on paediatric pharyngitis management.
  • To evaluate changes in antibiotic prescription patterns post-guideline implementation.
  • To analyze clinical outcomes and complication rates.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective before-and-after cohort study.
  • Inclusion of paediatric patients diagnosed with pharyngitis or tonsillitis (July 2019-June 2022).
  • Analysis of clinical data, Centor scores, microbiological tests, and antibiotic prescriptions.

Main Results:

  • No significant change in overall antibiotic prescribing patterns observed.
  • A slight increase in amoxicillin prescription rates (4.6%) after the guideline update.
  • Low rates of secondary visits (13%) and rare suppurative complications.

Conclusions:

  • The updated guideline had no immediate impact on antibiotic prescribing for paediatric pharyngitis.
  • Continued monitoring is needed to evaluate long-term effects.
  • Focus remains on appropriate antibiotic use in pediatric respiratory infections.
Abstract

Keywords:
Centor scorecare guidelinegroup a streptococcuspharyngitis

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