Hughes H E, Morbey R, Hughes T C, Locker T E, Pebody R, Green H K, Ellis J, Smith G E, Elliot A J
Real-time Syndromic Surveillance Team,Public Health England,Birmingham,UK.
John Radcliffe Hospital,Oxford,UK.
Epidemiol Infect. 2016 Apr;144(5):1052-64. doi: 10.1017/S0950268815002125. Epub 2015 Sep 29.
Seasonal respiratory infections place an increased burden on health services annually. We used a sentinel emergency department syndromic surveillance system to understand the factors driving respiratory attendances at emergency departments (EDs) in England. Trends in different respiratory indicators were observed to peak at different points during winter, with further variation observed in the distribution of attendances by age. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed acute respiratory infection and bronchitis/bronchiolitis ED attendances in patients aged 1-4 years were particularly sensitive indicators for increasing respiratory syncytial virus activity. Using near real-time surveillance of respiratory ED attendances may provide early warning of increased winter pressures in EDs, particularly driven by seasonal pathogens. This surveillance may provide additional intelligence about different categories of attendance, highlighting pressures in particular age groups, thereby aiding planning and preparation to respond to acute changes in EDs, and thus the health service in general.
季节性呼吸道感染每年都会给医疗服务带来更大的负担。我们使用了一个哨点急诊科症状监测系统，以了解促使英格兰急诊科呼吸道就诊人数增加的因素。观察到不同呼吸道指标的趋势在冬季的不同时间达到峰值，且按年龄划分的就诊人数分布存在进一步差异。多元线性回归分析显示，1至4岁患者的急性呼吸道感染和支气管炎/细支气管炎急诊科就诊人数是呼吸道合胞病毒活动增加的特别敏感指标。利用对急诊科呼吸道就诊人数的近实时监测，可能会为急诊科冬季压力增加提供早期预警，尤其是由季节性病原体导致的压力。这种监测可能会提供有关不同就诊类别更多的信息，突出特定年龄组的压力，从而有助于规划和准备应对急诊科的急性变化，进而应对整个医疗服务的变化。
