Sore throat DDx • LITFL • CCC Differential Diagnosis

Overview

Sore throat can be more than a viral pharyngitis!

Causes

Common Causes:

Tonsillitis
Pharyngitis
Peritonsilar Abscess (quinsy)
Infectious mononucleosis

Most patients with sore throat will have a viral or short-lived bacterial infection. However, clinicians need to be able to identify patients at risk of having group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infections as appropriate treatment may prevent complications.

Other less common bacterial causes of pharyngitis/ tonsilitis include:

group C and G strep, Fusobacterium necrophorum, Neisseria gonorrhoea, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and several chlamydial species

Less common and/or dangerous causes of a sore throat include:

Lemierre syndrome due to Fusobacterium necrophorum
Retropharyngeal abscess
Epiglottis
Scarlet fever
Diphtheria
Bacterial Tracheitis
Ludwig’s Angina
Angioedema or anaphylaxis
Painful cervical lymphadenopathy
Trauma, e.g. foreign body or caustic ingestion

References and Links

LITFL

ENT Equivocation 001 — A nasty sore throat
ENT Equivocation 002 — My throat hurts!
Tropical Travel Trouble 011 – Tonsillitis and the Bull
Paediatric Perplexity 016 – Frankly my dear, I do give a damn

Journal Articles and Textbooks

Stewart, C. (2006). A “killer” sore throat: Inflammatory disorders of the paediatric airway. Pediatric Emergency Medicine Practice. (Vol3, No 6)

CCC Differential Diagnosis Series
NEURO	Anosmia, Ataxia, Blepharospasm, Bulbar and Pseudobulbar palsy, Central Pontine Myelinosis, Cerebellar Disease, Chorea, Cranial nerve lesions, Dementia, Dystonia, Exophthalmos, Eye trauma, Facial twitches, Fixed dilated pupil, Horner syndrome, Loss of vision, Meningism, Movement disorders, Optic disc abnormality, Parkinsonism, Peripheral neuropathy, Radiculopathy, Red eye, Retinal Haemorrhage, Seizures, Sudden severe headache, Tremor, Tunnel vision
RESP	Bronchial breath sounds, Bronchiectasis, High airway pressures, Massive haemoptysis, Sore throat, Tracheal displacement
CVS	Atrial Fibrillation, Bradycardia, Cardiac Failure, Chest Pain, Murmurs, Post-resuscitation syndrome, Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA), Pulsus Paradoxus, Shock, Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), Tachycardia, VT and VF, SVC Obstruction
GIT	Abdominal distension, Abdominal mass, Abdominal pain, Asterixis, Dysphagia, Hepatomegaly, Hepatosplenomegaly, Large bowel obstruction, Liver palpation abnormalities, Lower GI haemorrhage, Malabsorption, Medical causes of abdominal pain, Rectal mass, Small bowel obstruction, Upper GI Haemorrhage
GUT	Genital ulcers, Groin lump, Scrotal mass, Urine colour, Urine Odour, Urine transparency,
MSK	Arthritis, Shoulder pain, Wasting of the small muscles of the hand
DERM	Palmar erythema, Serious skin signs in sick patients, Thickened Tethered Skin, Leg ulcers, Skin Tumour, Acanthosis Nigricans
ENDO	Diabetes Insipidus, Diffuse Goitre, Gynaecomastia, Hirsutism, Hypoglycaemia, SIADH, Weight Loss
HAEM	Splenomegaly
PAEDS	Floppy infant
MISC	Anaphylaxis, Autoimmune associated diseases, Clubbing, Parotid Swelling, Splinter haemorrhages, Toxic agents and abnormal vitals, Toxicological causes of cardiac arrest
IMAGING	CHEST: Atelectasis, Hilar adenopathy, Hilar enlargement on CXR, Honeycomb lung, Increased interstitial markings, Mediastinal widening on mobile CXR, Pulmonary fibrosis, Pseudoinfiltrates on CXR, Pulmonary opacities on CXR, ABDO: Gas on abdominal X-ray, Kidney mass, BRAIN: Intracranial calcification, Intracranial structures with contrast, Ventriculomegaly, OTHER: Pseudofracture on X-Ray,
LABS	LOW: Anaemia, Hypocalcaemia, hypochloraemia, Hypomagnesaemia, HIGH: Bilirubin and Jaundice, Hyperammonaemia, Hypercalcaemia, Hyperchloraemia, Hyperkalaemia, Hypermagnesaemia, ACID BASE: Acid base disorders, Resp. acidosis, Resp. alkalosis, Creatinine, CRP, Dipstick Urinalysis, Laboratory Urinalysis, Liver function tests (LFTs), Pleural fluid analysis, Urea, Urea Creatinine Ratio, Uric acid, Urinalysis, Urine Electrolytes

Cite this article as: Chris Nickson, "Sore throat DDx," In: LITFL - Life in the FastLane, Accessed on April 1, 2023, https://litfl.com/sore-throat-ddx/.

Critical Care

Compendium

…more CCC

Chris Nickson

Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives.

After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education.

He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE. He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference.

His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.

On Twitter, he is @precordialthump.

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