What score would be assigned to a 13-year-old patient presenting with fever, sore throat, exudate, and lymph swelling according to CENTOR's criteria?

To assess the likelihood of streptococcal pharyngitis in a patient using the CENTOR criteria, specific symptoms and signs are evaluated, each contributing a score towards the overall assessment. The criteria include:

• Fever (1 point)

• Absence of cough (1 point)

• Swollen tender anterior cervical lymph nodes (1 point)

• Tonsillar swelling or exudate (1 point)

• Age consideration: 3 points for age 3-14 years.

In this scenario, the 13-year-old patient presents with a fever, sore throat, exudate, and lymph swelling. Breaking this down based on the CENTOR criteria:

1. Presence of fever contributes 1 point.

2. The sore throat, along with exudate, counts towards the tonsillar swelling/exudate point, contributing another point.

3. Swollen anterior cervical lymph nodes adds yet another point.

4. The patient is 13 years old, which contributes an additional 1 point for age.

Adding these points together, the total score for this patient would be 4. Therefore, while the response indicated a score of 5, the accurate calculation based on the given criteria leads to a score of 4 as the maximum score for