Strep A and Scarlette Fever

“Although scarlet fever is seen after streptococcal sore throat... it may also occur following burns or an infected wound”

— GP Notebook

Take Away Points

Strep A is responsible for a number of infections, the most common of which are strep throat and Scarlette fever.
It predominantly affects ages 2-8 with a peak around age 4, but it is not exlcusive to paediatrics.
We should use CENTOR or FEVER-PAIN scores to help us calculate the likelyhood of strepthroat infection and guide our treatment advice.
If we suspect strep throat infection we should refer the patient for anti-biotics.
Patients with throat symptoms, a pinpoint blanching rash and red tongue may have scarlette fever and so should be refered to their GP for follow up, antibiotics and monitoring.
We need to ensure we provide comprehensive and accurate worsening advice both written and verbal.
In patinets with a previous history of strep A infection in recent weeks, we need to bare in mind some of the complications of this infection such as rhematic fever.

Remember, clinicians are responsible for their own practice. These podcasts are produced for informative purposes and should not be considered solely sufficient to adjust practice. We provide lots of learning resources, so don’t just take our word for it…navigate to these and reflect on this topic further. See "The Legal Bit" for more info.

If you’ve got any comments on the article or podcast, please let us know using our Contact page, comment below or talk to us on Twitter!

Alternatively, you can come and chat with us about it on our Facebook group Parameducate.

If you like the podcast please leave us a review on the App store as it really helps boost our visibility so others can find our content, remember to tune in next month for our next General BroadCAST and don’t forget that you can check out our Archive for more free CPD!