Personally, I wouldn't dream of taking antibiotics for a sore throat. Not
unless I had loads of pus on tonsils with no sign of recovery after 5 days or
so.
Why not? Well, thrush, oral contraceptive failure, too mean to pay £5.50,
fear of resistance, and also hopeless at compliance!
But agree, not worth while provoking confrontation with patients with
entrenched ideas.
I usually explain all about viruses (for nth time) and at end of lecture, when
patient just dying to leave because bored to tears, I offer a prescription "to
use if you really need to in the next few days"
Don't see many patients with sore throats any more!
Ruth
-- http://www.Stamford.co.uk/littlesurgery
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From: [log in to unmask] on behalf of Doug Jenkinson
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 1996 11:30
To: GP-UK Mailing list
Subject: I've had a complaint!
>What does anyone think of this?
>On Friday I saw a lady who had a simple sore throat, took a T/S, gave usual
>advice re PCM etc and off she went. Monday am she was first patient v. angry
>"you ruined my week-end, I had the doctor out on Friday night only 8 hrs
after
>seeing you, he said it was definitelya bacterial tonsillitis, gave me
>penicillin and within 8 hours I was feeling better". Unfortunately the doctor
>was in the SE and I can't get hold of him. The T/S came back positive for
>strep. I am v unimpressed by the use of antibios in preventing sore throats
>going on to tonsillitis- the diagnosis sounds v dubious in this case anyway-
>or of their use in tonsillitis, although do give them for tonsillitis. I
don't
>have a crystal ball!! Despite my explanations, said lady has sent in a
>complaint to my senior partner who always gives antibios for sorethroats. I
am
>most pissed off. What would you have done?
Ask yourself what you would have done if you had a sore throat bad enough to
go
to the inconvenience of taking time out to make an appointment with
somebody about because it was important to get well as soon as possible (like
taking the MRCGP tomorrow). Most docs would take a handful of antibiotic
after stopping for 10 microseconds to justify it. Why should patients be
entitled to less? It all boils down to values in the end, and if you think
the values of others do not deserve respect you could become an unhappy doc.
Doug Jenkinson
Keyworth Nottingham
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