Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study
AbstractObjective Examine characteristics and time trends of respiratory tract infection (RTI) consultations in Norwegian primary care and compare consultations in daytime general practice and out-of-hours (OOH) services.Design Registry-based study using reimbursement claims data.Setting All in-pers...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2022.2069711 |
| _version_ | 1797661260150472704 |
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| author | Leo Larsen Knut-Arne Wensaas Knut Erik Emberland Guri Rortveit |
| author_facet | Leo Larsen Knut-Arne Wensaas Knut Erik Emberland Guri Rortveit |
| author_sort | Leo Larsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractObjective Examine characteristics and time trends of respiratory tract infection (RTI) consultations in Norwegian primary care and compare consultations in daytime general practice and out-of-hours (OOH) services.Design Registry-based study using reimbursement claims data.Setting All in-person primary care consultations during 2006–2015.Patients All patients visiting primary care during the study period.Main outcome measures The main outcome variable was RTI consultations. Differences regarding service type (general practice or OOH services) and changes over time were investigated. We report associations with patient age and sex, season, point-of-care C-reactive protein (CRP) test use, and sickness certificate issuing.Results RTI consultations (n = 16 304 777) represented 11.6% of all consultations (N = 140 199 637) in primary care over the ten-year period. The annual number of RTI consultations per 1000 inhabitants decreased from 335 to 314, while the number of consultations for any reason increased. Of RTI consultations, 83.2% occurred in general practice. OOH services had a higher proportion of RTI consultations (21.4%) compared with general practice (10.6%). Young children (0–4 years) represented 18.9% of all patients in RTI consultations. CRP testing was used in 56.2% of RTI consultations, and use increased over time. Sickness certificates were issued in 31.9% of RTI consultations with patients of working age (20–67 years).Conclusion Most RTI consultations occurred in general practice, although the proportion was higher in OOH services. Laboratory testing and/or issuing of sickness certificates were part of most consultations. This could be an important reason for seeking health care. Key PointsPatients with a respiratory tract infection (RTI) are mostly managed in primary care, where they represent much of the workload.Most consultations for RTIs took place in daytime general practice, but out-of-hours services had a higher proportion of RTI consultations.RTIs were the dominating reason for encounter among young children both in out-of-hours services and daytime general practice.CRP tests were used in over half of RTI consultations, and their use expanded over time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:42:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7f952958cbaf468588263dbcdc2755d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0281-3432 1502-7724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:42:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-7f952958cbaf468588263dbcdc2755d92023-10-12T09:42:47ZengTaylor & Francis GroupScandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care0281-34321502-77242022-04-0140217318010.1080/02813432.2022.2069711Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based studyLeo Larsen0Knut-Arne Wensaas1Knut Erik Emberland2Guri Rortveit3Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Section for General Practice, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Health, Research Unit for General Practice, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Section for General Practice, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Section for General Practice, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayAbstractObjective Examine characteristics and time trends of respiratory tract infection (RTI) consultations in Norwegian primary care and compare consultations in daytime general practice and out-of-hours (OOH) services.Design Registry-based study using reimbursement claims data.Setting All in-person primary care consultations during 2006–2015.Patients All patients visiting primary care during the study period.Main outcome measures The main outcome variable was RTI consultations. Differences regarding service type (general practice or OOH services) and changes over time were investigated. We report associations with patient age and sex, season, point-of-care C-reactive protein (CRP) test use, and sickness certificate issuing.Results RTI consultations (n = 16 304 777) represented 11.6% of all consultations (N = 140 199 637) in primary care over the ten-year period. The annual number of RTI consultations per 1000 inhabitants decreased from 335 to 314, while the number of consultations for any reason increased. Of RTI consultations, 83.2% occurred in general practice. OOH services had a higher proportion of RTI consultations (21.4%) compared with general practice (10.6%). Young children (0–4 years) represented 18.9% of all patients in RTI consultations. CRP testing was used in 56.2% of RTI consultations, and use increased over time. Sickness certificates were issued in 31.9% of RTI consultations with patients of working age (20–67 years).Conclusion Most RTI consultations occurred in general practice, although the proportion was higher in OOH services. Laboratory testing and/or issuing of sickness certificates were part of most consultations. This could be an important reason for seeking health care. Key PointsPatients with a respiratory tract infection (RTI) are mostly managed in primary care, where they represent much of the workload.Most consultations for RTIs took place in daytime general practice, but out-of-hours services had a higher proportion of RTI consultations.RTIs were the dominating reason for encounter among young children both in out-of-hours services and daytime general practice.CRP tests were used in over half of RTI consultations, and their use expanded over time.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2022.2069711Data analysisepidemiologygeneral practicehealth services researchprimary health carerespiratory tract infections |
| spellingShingle | Leo Larsen Knut-Arne Wensaas Knut Erik Emberland Guri Rortveit Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care Data analysis epidemiology general practice health services research primary health care respiratory tract infections |
| title | Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study |
| title_full | Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study |
| title_fullStr | Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study |
| title_short | Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015: a registry-based study |
| title_sort | respiratory tract infections in norwegian primary care 2006 2015 a registry based study |
| topic | Data analysis epidemiology general practice health services research primary health care respiratory tract infections |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/02813432.2022.2069711 |
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