Clinical and psychosocial predictors of illness duration from randomised controlled trial of prescribing strategies for sore throat

摘要

Sore throat is one of the commonest reasons for visit- ing general practitioners yet little is known about what factors are important in its natural course. This is important since people with prolonged illness after the ]consultation-the 36/100 with illness lating more than five days after seeing the doctor (the median)-are much more likely to reattend. Providing patients with information about duration of illness can reduce expectation and reattendance.