Antibiotics for strep throat seem like a simple decision—but the evidence is anything but simple. In this Journal Jam podcast with Dr. Casey Parker and Dr. Justin Morgenstern, we critically appraise the literature behind one of the most common infections seen in emergency medicine. Do antibiotics meaningfully improve symptoms? Do they prevent peritonsillar abscess, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, or rheumatic fever? How reliable are the studies informing our practice? We explore publication bias, limitations of the Centor score, antibiotic harms, and the importance of local epidemiology, helping clinicians move beyond dogma toward more nuanced, evidence-based decision-making... Please consider a donation to EM Cases to ensure ongoing high quality free open access medical education here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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