The diagnosis and treatment of sore throat in pediatric patients attending one of two facilities at a university hospital: pediatric ambulatory facility (PAF) and emergency unit (EU) in a period of 14 months are described. There were 421 patients at the PAF and 289 at the EU, of whom 65% and 76% were studied for Streptococcus pyogenes respectively. Streptococcus were detected in both centers in 37% of cases, with a peak detection of 50% at ages 6 to 10 years. There were 217 patients without any bacteriological study, of whom 162 (75%) received antibiotics. The importance of bacteriological confirmation prior to antibiotic prescription in this disease is emphasized.