Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32968893›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2021

Peaks in online inquiries into pharyngitis-related symptoms correspond with annual incidence rates.

Faris F Brkic, Gerold Besser, Stefan Janik, Anselm J Gadenstaetter, Thomas Parzefall, Dominik Riss, David T Liu

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In one paragraph

Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Annual trends in Google searches provides insights related to rhinosinusitis exacerbations.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2022
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Faris F BrkicDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Gerold BesserDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Stefan JanikDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Anselm J GadenstaetterDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Thomas ParzefallDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
Dominik RissDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
David T LiuDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria. david.liu@meduniwien.ac.at.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6948-737X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess whether web-based public inquiries into pharyngitis-related search terms follow annual incidence peaks of acute pharyngitis in various countries from both hemispheres.

methodsGoogle Trends (GT) was utilized for systematic acquisition of pharyngitis-related search terms (sore throat, cough, fever, cold). Six countries from both hemispheres including four English (United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Australia) and two non-English speaking countries (Austria and Germany) were selected for further analysis. Time series data on relative search interest for pharyngitis-related search terms, covering a timeframe between 2004 and 2019 were extracted. Following reliability analysis using the intra-class correlation coefficient, the cosinor time series analysis was utilized to determine annual peaks in public-inquiries.

resultsThe extracted datasets of GT proved to be highly reliable with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.83 to 1.0. Graphical visualization showed annual seasonal peaks for pharyngitis-related search terms in all included countries. The cosinor time series analysis revealed these peaks to be statistically significant during winter months (all p < 0.001).

conclusionOur study revealed seasonal variations for pharyngitis-related terms which corresponded to winter incidence peaks of acute pharyngitis. These results highlight the need for easily accessible information on diagnosis, therapy, and red-flag symptoms for this common disease. Accurately informed patients might contribute to a reduction of unnecessary clinic visits and potentially cutback the futile antibiotic overuse.

Indexed as

PharyngitisAnti-Bacterial AgentsAustraliaAustriaCanadaGermanyHumansIncidenceReproducibility of ResultsUnited KingdomUnited StatesAnti-Bacterial AgentsAcute pharyngitisCosinorGoogle trendsInfodemiologyPharyngitisSore throat

Identifiers

PMID32968893
PMCPMC7510767

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Registered trials

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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.