[Infectious disease in primary care: 1-year prospective study]

Abstract

Introduction: The frequency and seasonal variability of infectious diseases was determined in patients consulting in the primary care setting.

Methods: In 2007, an observational, prospective study was conducted, including all persons older than 14 with infectious diseases consulting at 2 primary care practices. All infectious diseases identified over the 1-year period were recorded using a template with the following variables: age and sex, present diagnosis, prescription of an antibiotic or not, diagnostic tests used, and referral to a specialist or not.

Results: Out of 12,676 patients attended over the year, 4214 presented at least one infectious disease (33.2%). A total of 4353 infections were observed, in patients with a mean age of 44.1 years (SD: 12.1). The most common infectious diseases were respiratory infections (2196, 50.4%), followed by skin infections (586, 13.5%) and urinary tract infections (452, 10.4%). The incidence of infections ranged from 39.8% in January to 30.7% in August. The greatest seasonal variation was related to respiratory tract infections, which were more frequent in winter (69.2%) and less common in summer (25.1%), whereas skin infections accounted for 22.6% of all infectious diseases in summer. A total of 962 patients had self-administered antimicrobial agents (22.8%). In respiratory tract infections, the percentage of antimicrobials self-administered by patients was greater than the percentage of prescriptions by physicians (22.2% vs. 14.7%, respectively).

Conclusion: Infectious diseases account for one third of the visits to a general practitioner and half of these cases correspond to respiratory tract infections. There is a seasonal variation in infections, mainly for respiratory infections.