Diagnosis of Streptococcal Pharyngitis by Detection of Streptococcus pyogenes in Posterior Pharyngeal versus Oral Cavity Specimens

Carbohydrate antigen detection, nucleic acid probe detection, and bacterial culture are commonly used to confirm group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis. Compared to standard throat swab specimens, the sensitivities of these tests with mouth specimens are poor. When testing for GAS pharyngitis, the throat remains the optimum site for sampling.