Detection of group A Streptococcus in tonsils from pediatric patients reveals high rate of asymptomatic streptococcal carriage

Table 1 Characteristics of study population undergoing tonsillectomy

^aCharacteristic	Recurrent GAS pharyngitis	Adenotonsillar hypertrophy	^b P -value
Age group			0.67
< 5 yrs	8 (27%)	11 (38%)
5-13 yrs	19 (63%)	16 (55%)
> 13 yrs	3 (10%)	2 (7%)
Gender			0.51
% Female	14 (47%)	16 (55%)
% Male	16 (53%)	13 (45%)
Race/Ethnicity			0.10
White	22 (76%)	17 (55%)
Black	5 (17%)	8 (26%)
Hispanic	1 (3%)	6 (19%)
Black and White	1 (3%)	0 (0%)
GAS pharyngitis diagnosed within the past 12 months			< 0.001
Yes	30 (100%)	5 (17%)
No	0 (0%)	24 (83%)
History of ear tubes			0.04
Yes	9 (31%)	2 (7%)
No	20 (69%)	27 (93%)

^a There are 1 or 2 missing values for each category.
^b Statistical Analysis. Categorical variables were analyzed by chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. A P- value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Stata 8.1 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX) was used for all analyses.

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