Characteristics of the sore throat test and treat service in community pharmacies (STREP) in Wales: cross-sectional analysis of 11304 consultations using anonymized electronic pharmacy records,

Mantzourani, Efi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6313-1409, Wasag, Diana, Cannings-John, Rebecca ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5235-6517, Ahmed, Haroon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0634-8548 and Evans, Andrew 2023. Characteristics of the sore throat test and treat service in community pharmacies (STREP) in Wales: cross-sectional analysis of 11304 consultations using anonymized electronic pharmacy records,. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 78 (1) , pp. 84-92. 10.1093/jac/dkac358

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Abstract

Background: An NHS-funded sore throat test and treat (STTT) service was introduced in selected community pharmacies in Wales. Service users were screened using FeverPAIN/Centor scores, offered rapid antigen detection testing (RADT) to detect group A Streptococcus if appropriate, and supplied with antibiotics (by the pharmacist) if indicated. Following an initial evaluation, the service was rolled out nationally. Objectives: This study forms part of the long-term STTT evaluation. The aim was to describe characteristics of the service and service users, the delivery, service outcomes, patient safety and antibiotic prescribing. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study using anonymized individual-level data from electronic pharmacy records of all eligible STTT service users between November 2018 and February 2020. Results: We identified 11 304 pharmacy STTT consultations in service users aged 6 years and over, with a median age of 25 years (IQR: 12 to 44). RADT was undertaken in 8666 (76.7%) consultations with 2503 (28.9% of RADT) positive tests. In total, 2406 (21.3%) service users were supplied with antibiotics. Pharmacists managed 91% of consultations in the pharmacy and referred only 937 (9.3%) service users to a GP and 27 (0.2%) to the Emergency Department. Higher rates of antibiotic supply were observed in out-of-hours consultations when compared with in-hours (24.9% versus 20.9%). Conclusions: This is the largest description of a pharmacy-led STTT service to date and suggests it can be delivered at scale to align with a pre-specified pathway that promotes appropriate use of RADT and antibiotics. The service could substantially reduce workload from a common illness in other heavily pressurized areas of primary and emergency care.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine Centre for Trials Research (CNTRR) Pharmacy
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0305-7453
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 December 2022
Date of Acceptance:	2 October 2022
Last Modified:	07 May 2023 05:28
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/155237

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