Observational studyBMJ open2021
Primary care for patients with respiratory tract infection before and early on in the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study in 16 European countries.
Observational study in BMJ open, 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.
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.
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.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ten pressure points in primary care during COVID-19: findings from an international narrative review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic treatment for respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Observational
- Overview of Methods for Assessing Antimicrobial Use in Outpatient Settings in High-Income Countries: A Narrative Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Uses of Virtual Care in Primary Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 health precautions on asymptomatic Streptococcus pyogenes carriage in palestinian children: a pre- and post-pandemic study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Patient safety incidents in Irish general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory practice level analysis.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in public primary health care in Greece: is there still a missing link to universal health coverage?BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Quality of care in Belgian general practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of the cross-sectional PRICOV-19 study.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Communication training for general practitioners aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing: a controlled before-after study in multicultural Dutch cities.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection: An observational study of respiratory tract infection in primary care in the early phase of the pandemic.The European journal of general practice · 2023Observational
- Practice- and System-Based Interventions to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission in Primary Care Settings: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2023Article
- Point prevalence audit surveys of respiratory tract infection consultations and antibiotic prescribing in primary care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2023Article
- Disease-Specific Quality Indicators for Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing for Respiratory Infections (ESAC Quality Indicators) Applied to Point Prevalence Audit Surveys in General Practices in 13 European Countries.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Pandemic preparedness and management in European out-of-hours primary care services - a descriptive study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Comparing antibiotic prescriptions in primary care between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza: a retrospective observational study.BJGP open · 2022Article
- Article
- Common Infections and Antibiotic Prescribing during the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Primary Care-Based Observational Cohort Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Antibiotic Prescribing Trends in Belgian Out-of-Hours Primary Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study Using Routinely Collected Health Data.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Family Medicine at the Forefront: Lessons Learnt From the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout in Crete, Greece.Frontiers in public healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
25 authors at 15 institutions in 14 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe primary health care (consultation characteristics and management) for patients contacting their general practitioner (GP) with a respiratory tract infection (RTI) early on in the COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting European countries, with comparison to prepandemic findings.
settingPrimary care in 16 countries (79 practices), when no routine SARS-CoV-2 testing was generally available. DESIGN AND
participantsBefore (n=4376) and early in the pandemic (n=3301), patients with RTI symptoms were registered in this prospective audit study. OUTCOME MEASURES: Consultation characteristics (type of contact and use of PPE) and management characteristics (clinical assessments, diagnostic testing, prescribing, advice and referral) were registered. Differences in these characteristics between countries and between pandemic and prepandemic care are described.
resultsCare for patients with RTIs rapidly switched to telephone/video consultations (10% in Armenia, 91% in Denmark), and when consultations were face-to-face, GPs used PPE during 97% (95% CI 96% to 98%) of contacts. Laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 in primary care patients with RTIs was rapidly implemented in Denmark (59%) and Germany (31%), while overall testing for C reactive protein decreased. The proportion of patients prescribed antibiotics varied considerably between countries (3% in Belgium, 48% in UK) and was lower during the pandemic compared with the months before, except for Greece, Poland and UK. GPs provided frequent and varied COVID-related advice and more frequently scheduled a follow-up contact (50%, 95% CI 48% to 52%). GPs reported a slightly higher degree of confidence in the likely effectiveness of their management in face-to-face (73% (very) confident, 95% CI 71% to 76%) than in virtual consultations (69%, 95% CI 67% to 71%).
conclusionsDespite between-country variation in consultation characteristics, access to SARS-CoV-2 laboratory testing and medication prescribing, GPs reported a high degree of confidence in managing their patients with RTIs in the emerging pandemic. Insight in the highly variable pandemic responses, as measured in this multicountry audit, can aid in fine-tuning national action and in coordinating a pan-European response during future pandemic threats.
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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.