1.A Prevalence Study of Pharyngitis and Its Associated Factors Among Adults With a Sore Throat in Three Primary Clinics in Selangor, Malaysia
AbdulRahman Muthanna ; Nurainul Hana Shamsuddin ; Aneesa Abdul Rashid ; Sazlina Shariff Ghazali ; Rukman Awang Hamat ; Maliza Mawardi ; Hani Syahida Salim ; Siti Zulaikha Zakariah
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2021;17(No.4):210-217
Introduction: Since pharyngitis in adults is one of the most common infectious diseases seen in general practitioner
consultations in Malaysia, data on pharyngitis among adults concerning to its prevalence, socio-demographic, risk
factors and clinical manifestations is very much lacking. This study aims to determine the prevalence of pharyngitis
among adults in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia from 2016 to 2017 and its associated demographic and risk factors.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 215 adult patients with a sore throat as the main symptom and
who did not receive any antibiotic treatment within two weeks at three Malaysian primary care clinics. The researchers assessed the participants’ clinical manifestations and collected throat swabs for culture to determine the presence
of group A streptococcus (GAS). Data on demographic characteristics, clinical manifestation and throat swab culture
results were analyzed using chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. Results: Pharyngitis was diagnosed in
130/215 (65%) adults with a sore throat. Only six isolates (2.8%) were identified as GAS. The overall mean age ± S.D
was 36.43 ± 15.7. The majority of the participants were in the age group of 18-28 years. There were 42.3% males
and 57.7% females; most participants were Malay 62.8%, followed by 30.2% Indian, 5.1% Chinese, and 1.9% other
ethnicities. The most common symptom among the participants was cough 196 (91.2%), followed by rhinorrhea
161 (74.8%), tonsillar swelling or exudates 68 (31.6%), inflamed or reddish of pharynx 62 (28.8%), swollen anterior
cervical lymph nodes 50 (23.3%), and fever ≥37.5°C 28 (13.0%). Conclusion: Besides, there was no significant association between pharyngitis and the demographic variables; the current findings emphasized that inflamed or reddish
pharynx, tonsillar swelling or exudates were among the factors associated with pharyngitis.