The following are criteria for testing:
- Age of the patient over 3 years of age
- Presence of sudden onset sore throat, generally with fever
- Absence of cough, hoarseness, coryza, conjunctivitis, viral exanthem, mouth ulcers, diarrhea (ie, viral symptoms)
- Presence of one or more of the following:
- Pharyngeal erythema
- Tonisillar exudate
- Tender cervical nodes
- Scarlatiniform rash
- Palatal petechiae
- Swollen red uvula