Persistence of group A streptococci as related to penicillinase-producing staphylococci: Comparison of penicillin V potassium and sodium nafcillin

A total of 278 children with upper respiratory infections and group A beta-hemolytic streptococci on pharyngeal culture were treated for 10 days with either PVP or SN. Twenty-six (9.3 per cent) had serologically similar group A streptococci on reculture 7 to 10 days after cessation of treatment. There was no significant difference between the two treatment groups in the percentage of patients who continued to harbor streptococci after therapy. Penicillinase-producing staphylococci were isolated from the initial pharyngeal culture in 17 per cent of the patients. No statistically significant correlation was found between the presence of staphylococci initially and the persistence of streptococci on follow-up culture in either of the 2 treatment groups, although the total number of patients with coexisting streptococci and staphylococci was small. These data suggest that while SN is an effective drug for the treatment of streptococcal infections, it is not superior to a standard penicillin preparation such as PVP.