Incidence, healthcare-seeking behaviours, antibiotic use and natural history of common infection syndromes in England: results from the Bug Watch community cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Better information on the typical course and management of acute common infections in the community could inform antibiotic stewardship campaigns. We aimed to investigate the incidence, management, and natural history of a range of infection syndromes (respiratory, gastrointestinal, mouth/dental, skin/soft tissue, urinary tract, and eye).

Methods

Bug Watch was an online prospective community cohort study of the general population in England (2018-2019) with weekly symptom reporting for 6 months. We combined symptom reports into infection syndromes, calculated incidence rates, described the proportion leading to healthcare-seeking behaviours and antibiotic use, and estimated duration and severity.

Results

The cohort comprised 873 individuals with 23,111 pers

SUBMITTER: Smith CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7820521 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature