Patients on such treatments had more than four times greater risk of the infection compared with those not taking antibiotics, research showed.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, US, assessed 576 participants. Of the 306 individuals who had been diagnosed with acne, 36 received oral antibiotics for their acne and 96 used topical antibiotics. A total of 210 patients (36%) had a history of pharyngitis in the past month. Those taking oral antibiotics were 4.3 times more likely to have had an episode of pharyngitis than those not on antibiotics.
The study authors said that while the cause of the infection was not clear, it was not due to group A streptococcus.
Margolis DJ, Fanelli M, Kupperman E et al. Arch Dermatol 2011
