SynthesisArchives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique2026
Drug sales data for gastrointestinal infections surveillance: a systematic review up to 2025.
Synthesis in Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGastrointestinal infections are an important Public Health problem. International institutions suggest supporting traditional epidemiologic surveillance with syndromic surveillance, including the use of drug sales data monitoring. This review aims to investigate the usefulness of drug sales data as a tool for gastrointestinal infections surveillance by addressing the question "could drug sales data be a complementary contribution to traditional epidemiological GI infections surveillance?".
methodsThe bibliographic search was carried out in December 2025 using a specific string across 4 scientific literature databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library), according to PRISMA guidelines.
resultsOut of 5.905 publications screened, 15 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The selected studies were published between 1983 and 2021, mostly conducted in Europe. Despite the wide variety of study designs, 73% (n = 11) of the publications emphasized the usefulness and effectiveness of drug sales data for surveillance. In contrast, 20% (n = 3) reported no utility, and 7% (n = 1) found it to be less useful compared to other data sources. Many authors underlined the importance of considering the variables impacting the use and interpretation of drug sales data, and the importance of cooperation between healthcare providers to establish a virtuous surveillance system.
conclusionsIn the present systematic review, most selected publications seem to define drug sales data as potentially useful complementary source of information for gastrointestinal infections detection. However, heterogeneity of studies, publication bias and limitations on search strategy do not allow for a definitive qualitative conclusion. The limited number of recent studies highlights the need for further research that also considers the analysis of behavioural factors. Moreover, to optimize the use of new drug sales data collection systems for gastroenteritis surveillance, the application of new computational methods appears promising. REGISTRATION: This systematic review was recorded in the register PROSPERO (ID number CRD42023492791).
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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.