Editorial: Advice about sore throats

Monday, Nov. 14, 2005 | 8:50 a.m.

A new study by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston will be of interest to parents. It says more than 1 million American children are wrongly treated each year after being examined for sore throats.

The problem, according to the study, is that children are often prescribed new and powerful antibiotics. In many cases, the root of the problem is streptococcus bacteria, which the doctors say is best treated (unless children are allergic) with the less powerful, and less expensive, standbys -- penicillin and amoxicillin.

Also, the study says, the new antibiotics are often prescribed when the cause of the soreness is a virus, against which antibiotics are useless.

"We really shouldn't be prescribing antibiotics to kids in the absence of a strep test," said Dr. Jeffrey Linder, an internist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. "It's exposing kids to all the risks of antibiotics with no possible benefits."

The bottom line of the study is that powerful new drugs are often not the best. Also, they are more expensive and, if used indiscriminately, can cause bacteria to become resistant. As sore-throat season is upon us, we advise parents to follow the recommendation of this study and ask for a strep test before accepting a sore-throat prescription.