Evidence map›Paper›PMID 9366736›Full record

ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)1997

Acute viral infections of upper respiratory tract in elderly people living in the community: comparative, prospective, population based study of disease burden.

K G Nicholson, J Kent, V Hammersley, E Cancio

Open access · greenAbstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 1997. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 157 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
157citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
8.5field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

157 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 385 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Global meta-analysis of short-term associations between ambient temperature and pathogen-specific respiratory infections, 2004 to 2023.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Vaccines for the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Vaccines for the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017
    Pooled it
  6. Influenza.BMJ clinical evidence · 2011
    Pooled it
  7. Guideline
  8. Influenza.BMJ clinical evidence · 2009
    Pooled it
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97 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

K G NicholsonLeicester University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
J Kent
V Hammersley
E Cancio
University of Leicester · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the disease burden of upper respiratory infections in elderly people living at home.

designProspective surveillance of elderly people.

interventionNone.

settingLeicestershire, England SUBJECTS: 533 subjects 60 to 90 years of age.

main outcome measuresPathogens, symptoms, restriction of activity, duration of illness, medical consultations, interval between onset of illness and medical consultation, antibiotic use, admission to hospital, and death.

results231 pathogens were identified for 211 (43%) of 497 episodes for which diagnostic specimens were available: 121 (52%) were rhinoviruses, 59 (26%) were coronaviruses, 22 (9.5%) were influenza A or B, 17 (7%) were respiratory syncytial virus, 7 (3%) were parainfluenza viruses, and 3 (1%) were Chlamydia species; an adenovirus and Mycoplasma pneumoniae caused one infection each. Infections occurred at a rate of 1.2 episodes per person per annum (95% confidence interval 1.0 to 1.7; range 0-10) and were clinically indistinguishable. Lower respiratory tract symptoms complicated 65% of upper respiratory infections and increased the medical consultation rate 2.4-fold (chi 2 test P < 0.001). The median interval between onset of illness and medical consultation was 3 days for influenza and 5 days for other infections. Rhinoviruses caused the greatest disease burden overall followed by episodes of unknown aetiology, coronaviruses, influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus.

conclusionsRespiratory viruses cause substantial morbidity in elderly people. Although respiratory syncytial virus and influenza cause considerable individual morbidity, the burden of disease from rhinovirus infections and infections of unknown aetiology seems greater overall. The interval between onset of illness and consultation together with diagnostic difficulties raises concern regarding the role of antiviral drugs in treating influenza.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overAnti-Bacterial AgentsCost of IllnessEnglandFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedPatient Acceptance of Health CareProspective StudiesRespiratory Tract InfectionsVirus DiseasesAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID9366736
PMCPMC2127683
OpenAlexW2047381054

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.