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Background: There is little evidence about the relationship between aetiology, illness severity, and clinical course of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in primary care. Understanding these associations would aid in the development of effective management strategies for these infections.Aim: To investigate whether clinical presentation and illness course differ between RTIs where a viral pathogen was detected and those where a potential bacterial pathogen was found.Design and Setting: Post hoc analysis of data from a pragmatic randomised trial on the effects of oseltamivir in patients with flu-like illness in primary care (n = 3266) in 15 European countries.Method: Patient characteristics and their signs and symptoms of disease were registered at baseline. Nasopharyngeal (adults) or nasal and pharyngeal (children) swabs were taken for polymerase chain reaction analysis. Patients were followed up until 28 days after inclusion. Regression models and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyse the relationship between aetiology, clinical presentation at baseline, and course of disease including complications.Results: Except for a less prominent congested nose (odds ratio [OR] 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.35 to 0.86) and acute cough (OR 0.42, 95% CI = 0.27 to 0.65) in patients with flu-like illness in whom a possible bacterial pathogen was isolated, there were no clear clinical differences in presentations between those with a possible bacterial aetiology compared with those with a viral aetiology. Also, course of disease and complications were not related to aetiology.Conclusion: Given current available microbiological tests and antimicrobial treatments, and outside pandemics such as COVID-19, microbiological testing in primary care patients with flu-like illness seems to have limited value. A wait-and-see policy in most of these patients with flu-like illness seems the best option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses issues regarding the prescription of antibiotics to patients with acute cough and otitis media. Reason for the 60% antibiotic prescribing in general practice; Medical approach expected to improve the situation of acute bronchitis and pneumonia in general practice; Discussion on otitis media and otitis-prone children.

Background: Persistent physical symptoms (PSS) are consistently prevalent among primary care patients. PSS can negatively affect quality of life, healthcare costs, and work participation., Aim: To examine predictors of treatment outcome in patients with who received treatment by a work-focused communication tool known as the Individual Challenge Inventory Tool (ICIT) delivered by the patient's general practitioner. In a previous study we found substantially improved outcomes and reduced sick leave for patients treated by the work-focused communication tool ICIT compared to a control group., Design & Setting: This study is based on the findings of our previous cluster randomised controlled trial., Method: Regression analyses of the intervention group were used to identify predictors (all measured at baseline) of improvements in Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) and sick leave after 11 weeks follow up., Results: Living alone predicted improvement in the adjusted model (OR =4·03, 95% CI: 1·33-12·25, P =0·014). Receiving long term benefits predicted improved PGIC in both the unadjusted (OR =2·30, 95% CI: 1·21-4·39, P =0·011) and adjusted models (OR =2·46, 95% CI: 1·04-5·83, P =0·040). In addition, living alone predicted reduced sick leave in the adjusted model (OR =3·23, 95% CI: 1·11-9·42, P =0·032., Conclusion: In general, there were few factors to predict the outcome of the work-focused communication tool ICIT. We therefore suggest that this work-focused communication tool ICIT is applicable to most patients with PPS. GPs may consider using the ICIT for all primary care patients who exhibit ineffective coping strategies in their daily lives and work, especially those who live alone., (Copyright © 2024, The Authors.)

Background: The role of large colony streptococci groups C or G as pathogen agents in sore throat has been questioned., Aim: To analyse clinical features of patients with large colony streptococci groups C or G compared with patients with group A streptococci (GAS) and with negative cultures., Design of Study: Prospective study of patients with sore throat., Setting: Two Norwegian general practices in Stokke and Kongsberg communities with 6500 patients., Method: Frequency of clinical features in the three patient categories including the four Centor criteria (fever, anterior cervical lymphadenopathy, tonsillar exudates, and lack of cough), degree of pain on swallowing, pharyngeal rubor, C-reactive protein (CRP) values, patient age between 3 and 14 years, and duration of symptoms before seeing the doctor. A logistic regression analysis to find independent predictors was performed., Results: Out of 306 patients with a sore throat, 244 were adults and 62 were children under 10 years old; 40% were men. One hundred and twenty-seven had GAS, 33 had streptococci groups C or G, and 146 had negative throat cultures. Forty-eight per cent of the GAS patients and 45% of the C or G patients met three or four of the Centor criteria. The logistic regression revealed that in patients with GAS considerable pain on swallowing, an age of 3-14 years and a duration of symptoms of < or =3 days or less were significantly associated with GAS infection in addition to the Centor criteria. The same results were found when all streptococci were analysed together, in addition elevated CRP was significant. In patients with streptococci group C or G an elevated CRP-value was significantly associated., Conclusion: Patients with tonsillitis caused by streptococcus groups C or G have, to a large extent, the same clinical picture as patients with GAS. Large colony streptococci groups C and G should be considered as throat pathogens in line with GAS.

Background: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was introduced more than 40 years ago and is accepted as a clinically useful method to evaluate the white coat effect in patients with suspected and established hypertension., Aim: To study the differences between blood pressure readings taken in the physician's office in the primary healthcare setting, and ambulatory readings, and to find possible predictors., Design of Study: Prospective study., Setting: Two primary healthcare centres in Norway., Method: The study included 221 patients, 107 of whom were on antihypertensive treatment, and 114 of whom were under investigation for possible hypertension. Differences between blood pressure readings taken in the physician's office and ambulatory readings were calculated. Independent predictors for the white coat effect were calculated using linear regression analysis., Results: The difference between blood pressure readings taken in the office and ambulatory readings was 27 mmHg systolic and 11 mmHg diastolic. For the systolic readings, the following factors were independent predictors of the amount of the white coat effect: mean blood pressure, age, history of smoking, family history of cardiovascular disease, and antihypertensive treatment. For the diastolic readings, they were: mean blood pressure, history of smoking, and sex of the patient (with this being most significant for women)., Conclusion: Ambulatory blood pressure measurement is of significant value in identifying patients with white coat hypertension. It can be an important supplement for use in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with hypertension in general practice.

Acute sinusitis is a common illness in primary care. Studies have demonstrated the difficulty of making the differential diagnosis of acute purulent sinusitis based on clinical evaluations alone. This leads to a significant overuse of antibiotics, which in turn may contribute to increased bacterial resistance. In most cases, GPs have to base their differential diagnosis of sinusitis on clinical signs and symptoms and examination of the patient. The aim of this review is to assess which clinical signs and symptoms can predict an acute purulent sinusitis, compared with accepted reference standards. A review of the literature was performed by looking at articles related to the diagnoses of acute sinusitis in general practice. The following search criteria were used: unselected general practice population; objective reference standard; and logistic regression to evaluate symptoms and signs independently associated with the diagnosis. Four studies were identified for further analysis. The following symptoms and signs were associated with acute purulent sinusitis: purulent secretion as a symptom experienced by the patient or as a sign demonstrated in the nasal cavity by the doctor; pain in the teeth; pain at bending forward, and two phases in the illness history. An elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and increased C-reactive protein also contributed to the diagnosis. By use of the specified signs and symptoms the GP can increase the probability of correctly diagnosing an acute purulent sinusitis and reserve antibiotic prescription for these patients.