The Costs of Testing for Streptococcal Pharyngitis in the Office Laboratory

I read with great interest the article by Tsevat and Kotagal¹ and the accompanying editorial by Pichichero.² They reviewed the costs of diagnosing streptococcal pharyngitis, and agreed that diagnostic testing needs to be performed. Tsevat and Kotagal concluded that on a cost-effectiveness basis, the throat culture was the diagnostic method of choice, while Pichichero recommended either a throat culture or a well-performed rapid antigen test.