Acute pharyngitis is one of the most common conditions encountered in outpatient clinical practice. Most cases of acute pharyngitis are caused by respiratory viruses and are self-limited. However, symptoms of viral pharyngitis broadly overlap with pharyngitis caused by important treatable causes, such as group A Streptococcus (GAS). Using a systematic approach to diagnosis can help reduce inappropriate antibiotic use by identifying which patients require testing and treatment for GAS and can also help determine which patients have serious conditions, such as acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, highly contagious infection such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or life-threatening complications of infection, such as airway obstruction.
Common infectious causes
Acute pharyngitis is one of the most common conditions encountered in outpatient clinical practice. The most common causes of acute pharyngitis are respiratory viruses and group A Streptococcus (GAS). Less common causes include other bacteria, herpes viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, and some sexually transmitted infections.
