Symptoms and signs

Use of clinical scoring systems

Pharmacy information gathering for sore throat will include three elements: the pharmacist’s usual questioning, plus palpation of the neck, and examining the appearance of the throat. The latter two enable the use of a clinical scoring system to assess the likelihood of bacterial infection.

An important part of assessing a patient with a sore throat is to see if there are signs of the patient appearing unwell or having symptoms of a respiratory tract infection, with coughing or running nose. It is also good practice to check for a raised temperature, ideally using an ear thermometer.