Prevalence of Asymptomatic Group A Carriage Based on Rapid Antigen Detection Test in Healthy Adults in Poland.

Acute pharyngitis is one of the most prevalent disorders seen in general practitioners' consultations. Most cases of acute pharyngitis in adults are caused by respiratory viruses and are self-limited. However, clinical manifestations of viral pharyngitis can overlap with bacterial pharyngitis, mainly caused by group A (GAS). A rapid antigen test for GAS can help diagnose streptococcal pharyngitis, but misdiagnosing infection in a patient with a viral condition can lead to inappropriate antibiotic use. Some patients with a sore throat due to a virus or other causes will test positive for GAS because of carriage. The aim of our study was to analyze rapid strep test results in healthy adults. A cohort study was conducted in an outpatient clinic in Wroclaw. We used the rapid strep test . A total of 350 healthy volunteers (≥18 years old) were enrolled in this study. The presence of , based on a rapid strep test, was detected in 17 adults (4.9%). The strep test positivity rate was higher in younger adults. In healthy individuals in Poland, the prevalence of pharyngeal carriage of GAS is 4.9%. This finding emphasizes that the rapid antigen detection test should only be used in cases of suspected bacterial pharyngitis to avoid inappropriate antibiotic use.