Abstract
We retrospectively examined the correlation of the acute nasopharyngitis score (based on the criteria proposed in 2011) with the white blood cell (WBC) count and c-reactive protein (CRP) level, which are indices of the severity of bacterial infection. The study population included 265 patients with acute nasopharyngitis who were examined in this hospital from 2015 to 2016. Their nasopharyngitis scores were positively correlated with their WBC counts and CRP levels. Mild, moderate, and severe nasopharyngitis were defined by scores of 0-3, 4-8, and 9-10, respectively. The patients’ WBC counts and CRP levels were analyzed irrespective of the severity. Patients who had mild, moderate, and severe nasopharyngitis had significantly different WBC counts and CRP levels. The classification of severity based on the nasopharyngitis score was therefore shown to accurately reflect the severity of acute nasopharyngitis. Thus, the nasopharyngitis score is a useful index that can be applied in the selection of treatment for acute nasopharyngitis.
