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Population-based paediatric respiratory infection surveillance: a prospective inception feasibility cohort study

Emma C Anderson1, Suzanne Ingle2, Peter Muir3,4

  • 11Centre for Academic Child Health, Population Health Sciences (PHS), Bristol Medical School (BRMS), University of Bristol, 1-5 Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 1NU UK.

Pilot and Feasibility Studies
|December 18, 2018
PubMed

Insights

This study shows that community-based surveillance for childhood respiratory infections (RTIs) is feasible. High parent participation and data collection rates suggest this method can help understand the population burden of RTIs.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Public health surveillance
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • General practitioner (GP) consultations for childhood respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common, impacting antibiotic stewardship.
  • Current research on RTIs primarily occurs at the point of care, creating a knowledge gap in understanding the overall population burden.
  • There is a need for effective methods to monitor RTIs in children within the community setting.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a community-based, online prospective inception cohort study for collecting RTI symptom and microbiological data in children.
  • To assess the ability to recruit participants and collect data prior to the onset of RTIs.
  • To inform strategies for reducing unnecessary GP consultations and improving antibiotic stewardship.

Main Methods:

  • A community-based, online prospective inception cohort study design was employed.
  • Nested qualitative interviews were conducted with parents and children to assess study acceptability.
  • Data collection involved parent-reported symptom diaries and microbiological swab samples obtained during home visits and at symptom resolution.

Main Results:

  • An invitation response rate of 4.7% (331/10,310 parents) was achieved, with respondents having younger children and lower socioeconomic deprivation compared to non-respondents.
  • High retention rates were observed, with parents completing symptom diaries for 87% of first RTI episodes and research nurses collecting complete swab sets in 98% of home visits.
  • Parents successfully collected a high proportion of symptomatic (98%) and asymptomatic (92%) swab sets, and qualitative interviews indicated study acceptability.

Conclusions:

  • The observed invitation response rates were within the expected range for this type of research.
  • High participant retention and positive qualitative feedback suggest that community-based paediatric syndromic and microbiological surveillance is feasible.
  • This approach holds promise for better understanding the population burden of RTIs in children.
Abstract

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