A clinical scoring test developed by NIHR-funded researchers has cut the use of antibiotics prescribed for sore throats by nearly a third. Used daily in primary care, the FeverPAIN score is a cost-effective approach to manage patients’ symptoms and reduce antibiotic use.
Led by Paul Little, SPCR Board member and Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Southampton, the PRImary care Streptococcal Management project (PRISM). team of researchers developed the FeverPAIN score (published in BMJ Open). It uses a five-item score to assess whether a bacterial infection is likely and requires antibiotics.
PRISM was the basis of developing other clinical scores for use by clinicians (StopAMR Project No. 584) and which has in turn been used to lever funding in order to develop decision aids for pharmacists to use in everyday practice (The HSDR funded PHASED in study).