Baseline characteristics by duration of antibiotic prescription in the whole cohort
| Duration of antibiotic prescription | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days | 7 days | 10 days | |
| Baseline clinical assessment | |||
| Severity of sore throat/difficulty swallowing on a 4-point Likert scale, mean (SD) | 3.27 (0.65) | 3.26 (0.67) | 3.18 (0.63) |
| Severity of all baseline symptoms on a 4-point Likert scale, mean (SD) | 2.18 (0.40) | 2.15 (0.40) | 2.12 (0.41) |
| FeverPAIN score,a mean (SD) | 1.72 (1.30) | 1.94 (1.32) | 2.36 (1.18) |
| Centor score,b mean (SD) | 1.85 (1.09) | 2.06 (1.10) | 2.33 (1.01) |
| Prior duration in days, mean (SD) | 4.61 (3.57) | 4.68 (4.22) | 4.11 (3.36) |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 33.16 (14.05) | 33.88 (14.21) | 32.35 (13.75) |
| Female sex, n/N (%) | 984/1466 (67.1) | 2832/4187 (67.6) | 1102/1632 (67.5) |
| Smoker, n/N (%) | 356/1464 (24.3) | 966/4168 (23.2) | 285/1621 (17.6) |
| Fever in last 24 hours, n/N (%) | 962/1458 (66.0) | 2816/4171 (67.5) | 1152/1630 (70.7) |
| Temperature ºC, mean (SD) | 36.86 (0.72) | 36.93 (0.72) | 36.99 (0.68) |
| Pus on tonsils, n/N (%) | 648/1460 (44.4) | 2131/4170 (51.1) | 1050/1627 (64.5) |
| Severely inflamed tonsils, n/N (%) | 209/1371 (15.2) | 816/3945 (20.7) | 325/1546 (21.0) |
| Prior medical problems, n (%) | 0.27 (0.52) | 0.25 (0.52) | 0.23 (0.49) |
| Return within 4 weeks with new or worsening symptoms, n/N (%) | 222/1449 (15.3) | 577/4135 (13.9) | 198/1620 (12.2) |
| Return within 4 weeks with complications, n/N (%) | 13/1449 (0.9) | 55/4135 (1.3) | 22/1620 (1.3) |