SynthesisBMC infectious diseases2014
Drug sales data analysis for outbreak detection of infectious diseases: a systematic literature review.
Synthesis in BMC infectious diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Drug sales data for gastrointestinal infections surveillance: a systematic review up to 2025.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Pooled it
- The effectiveness of syndromic surveillance for the early detection of waterborne outbreaks: a systematic review.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Digital Prescription-Based Influenza Activity Forecasting in Jiangxi Province, China: Comparative Modeling Analysis Using Multisource Data.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Real-time digital prescriptions unlock influenza dynamics: evidence from 21 million transactions.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Syndromic Surveillance-Review on Different Practices' Performance and Added Value for Public Health.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Feasibility of using community pharmacy sales of over-the-counter respiratory products as a syndromic surveillance indicator: a pilot study from Sofia, Bulgaria.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The toll of the cyclone: mental health impacts of tropical cyclones in coastal communities of India.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Public Medical Appeals and Government Online Responses: Big Data Analysis Based on Chinese Digital Governance Platforms.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Trends and factors influencing over-the-counter cold and cough medication sales in Guangzhou, China: 2011-2017.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Monitoring OTC drug sales for early detection of respiratory infectious disease outbreaks.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Assessing the value of integrating national longitudinal shopping data into respiratory disease forecasting models.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Syndromic Surveillance Using Structured Telehealth Data: Case Study of the First Wave of COVID-19 in Brazil.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Article
- Article
- The Sentiworld project: global mapping of sentinel surveillance networks in general practice.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- Economic Burden of Fungal Diseases in the United States.Open forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- "We face the same risk as the other health workers": Perceptions and experiences of community pharmacists in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- The potential roles of pharmacy medication sales data to augment the syndromic surveillance system in response to COVID-19 and preparedness for other future infectious disease outbreaks in Indonesia.The International journal of health planning and management · 2022Article
- Air pollution and meteorological conditions significantly contribute to the worsening of allergic conjunctivitis: a regional 20-city, 5-year study in Northeast China.Light, science & applications · 2021Article
- Quantification of the sensitivity of early detection surveillance.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2020Article
- Syndromic Surveillance of Acute Gastroenteritis Using the French Health Insurance Database: Discriminatory Algorithm and Drug Prescription Practices Evaluations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis systematic literature review aimed to summarize evidence for the added value of drug sales data analysis for the surveillance of infectious diseases.
methodsA search for relevant publications was conducted in Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, African Index Medicus and Lilacs databases. Retrieved studies were evaluated in terms of objectives, diseases studied, data sources, methodologies and performance for real-time surveillance. Most studies compared drug sales data to reference surveillance data using correlation measurements or indicators of outbreak detection performance (sensitivity, specificity, timeliness of the detection).
resultsWe screened 3266 articles and included 27 in the review. Most studies focused on acute respiratory and gastroenteritis infections. Nineteen studies retrospectively compared drug sales data to reference clinical data, and significant correlations were observed in 17 of them. Four studies found that over-the-counter drug sales preceded clinical data in terms of incidence increase. Five studies developed and evaluated statistical algorithms for selecting drug groups to monitor specific diseases. Another three studies developed models to predict incidence increase from drug sales.
conclusionsDrug sales data analyses appear to be a useful tool for surveillance of gastrointestinal and respiratory disease, and OTC drugs have the potential for early outbreak detection. Their utility remains to be investigated for other diseases, in particular those poorly surveyed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.