Penicillin and sore throats:

01 April 1990

The article last time about the inappropriate and overuse of penicillin for sore throats inspired a pharmacist to write in. She (or he) often has to complete prescriptions for antibiotics to treat sore throats. But rarely, if ever, have the patients had a throat swab first to determine if the cause is bacterial or viral. Surely he (or she) wonders, it would be cheaper to carry out swabs than to prescribe drugs that are ineffective and inappropriate.

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