The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
-
Multicenter Study Observational Study
Prevalence, diagnosis, and disease course of pertussis in adults with acute cough: a prospective, observational study in primary care.
Most cases of adult pertussis probably remain undiagnosed. ⋯ Pertussis infection plays a limited role among adults presenting with acute cough in primary care, but GPs should acknowledge the possibility of pertussis in uncomplicated lower respiratory tract infection. As in children, pertussis also causes prolonged symptoms in adults. However, pertussis is difficult to discern from other acute cough syndromes in adults at first presentation.
-
Limited knowledge of the population incidence and management of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) limits information provision and interventions to enhance care in the community. ⋯ UTI symptoms are common; most females consult in general practice, and are prescribed antibiotics, but one-third report not taking the antibiotics as prescribed. Benefit and harms in those taking, and not taking, antibiotics need to be better understood in order to improve help seeking, management, and adherence. Urine tests and antibiotics could be reduced by basing empirical antibiotics on symptoms, and increasing use of back-up prescriptions.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Diagnostic value of symptoms of oesophagogastric cancers in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Selection of primary care patients for investigation of potential oesophagogastric cancer is difficult, as the symptoms may represent benign conditions, which are also more common. ⋯ Dysphagia, weight loss, and anaemia show the strongest association but with relatively low sensitivity and high specificity. The findings support the value of investigation of these symptoms, but also suggest that, in a population of patients who are low risk but not no-risk, investigation is not currently recommended.