Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33478425›Full record

ArticleBMC infectious diseases2021

Using Baidu search values to monitor and predict the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China: - evidence from Baidu index.

Bizhi Tu, Laifu Wei, Yaya Jia, Jun Qian

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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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

4 authors.

Bizhi Tu *Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, 230022, Anhui, China.
Laifu Wei *Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, 230022, Anhui, China.
Yaya Jia *Department of Pediatrics, The Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
Jun QianDepartment of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 218 Jixi Road, Hefei, 230022, Anhui, China. qjpaper@sina.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 81471273Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province 81671204
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNew coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a severe threat to human life and caused a global pandemic. The current research aimed to explore whether the search-engine query patterns could serve as a potential tool for monitoring the outbreak of COVID-19.

methodsWe collected the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases between January 11, 2020, and April 22, 2020, from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The search index values of the most common symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, cough, fatigue) were retrieved from the Baidu Index. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to analyze the association between the Baidu index values for each COVID-19-related symptom and the number of confirmed cases. Regional distributions among 34 provinces/ regions in China were also analyzed.

resultsDaily growth of confirmed cases and Baidu index values for each COVID-19-related symptom presented robust positive correlations during the outbreak (fever: r

conclusionThe searches of COVID-19-related symptoms on the Baidu search engine were significantly correlated to the number of confirmed cases. Since the Baidu search engine could reflect the public's attention to the pandemic and the regional epidemics of viruses, relevant departments need to pay more attention to areas with high searches of COVID-19-related symptoms and take precautionary measures to prevent these potentially infected persons from further spreading.

Indexed as

Epidemiological MonitoringChinaCoughCOVID-19Disease OutbreaksDyspneaFatigueFeverHumansPandemicsSearch EngineBaidu indexCOVID-19Internet searchingWeb-based data

Identifiers

PMID33478425
PMCPMC7819631

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.