Document Type
DNP Project
Department
School of Nursing
Date of Degree
Spring 2025
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Primary Advisor
Cara Padovano DNP, APRN
Keywords
pharyngitis; Centor criteria; Streptococcus
Abstract
Background: Sore throats are one of the most prevalent health issues frequently encountered in primary care settings. Viruses, including Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Influenza virus, are commonly implicated as the leading cause of sore throat cases. While bacterial infections represent only 5–15% of sore throat cases, antibiotic prescriptions remain prevalent in bacterial and viral instances. Clinical decision tools like the Centor Criteria (CC) were developed to aid in identifying patients at higher risk of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection.
Objective: The purpose of the Quality Improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the impact of the CC tool in reducing the frequency of point-of-care (POC) testing in primary care practice and the CC tools’ effect on healthcare costs and resource utilization.
Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to compare two groups; pre and post POC implementation QI data. Data collection involved two cohorts: 31 participants in the pre-implementation phase and 37 in the post-implementation phase. Data were securely recorded in the EHR and analyzed using Welch’s t-tests to determine statistical significance.
Results: Results found a statistically significant reduction in POC testing frequency and resource utilization. The percentage of participants undergoing POC testing significantly decreased from 100% in the pre-implementation phase to 45.9% in the post-implementation phase, a 54.1% reduction (only patients with ≥ 2 CC score received POC testing), a statistically significant difference of (p=0.0000015).
Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the CC tool contributed to a significant reduction in point-of-care (POC) testing and improved resource utilization. The high reliability and validity of the tool further underscored the CC tools’ usefulness as a systematic approach to decision-making and adopting evidence-based strategies to reduce POC in patients presenting with sore throats in primary care.
Copyright Notice
©2025 Hodan Ali. All rights reserved.
Recommended Citation
Ali, H. (2025). Does Integration of Centor Criteria Reduce the Use of Point of Care Testing in the Management of Patients Presenting with Sore Throat in Primary Care?. , (). Retrieved from https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/son_dnp/188
Open Access
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