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The Lancet. Infectious Diseases May 2009Knowledge of the incubation period is essential in the investigation and control of infectious disease, but statements of incubation period are often poorly referenced,... (Review)
Review
Knowledge of the incubation period is essential in the investigation and control of infectious disease, but statements of incubation period are often poorly referenced, inconsistent, or based on limited data. In a systematic review of the literature on nine respiratory viral infections of public-health importance, we identified 436 articles with statements of incubation period and 38 with data for pooled analysis. We fitted a log-normal distribution to pooled data and found the median incubation period to be 5.6 days (95% CI 4.8-6.3) for adenovirus, 3.2 days (95% CI 2.8-3.7) for human coronavirus, 4.0 days (95% CI 3.6-4.4) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, 1.4 days (95% CI 1.3-1.5) for influenza A, 0.6 days (95% CI 0.5-0.6) for influenza B, 12.5 days (95% CI 11.8-13.3) for measles, 2.6 days (95% CI 2.1-3.1) for parainfluenza, 4.4 days (95% CI 3.9-4.9) for respiratory syncytial virus, and 1.9 days (95% CI 1.4-2.4) for rhinovirus. When using the incubation period, it is important to consider its full distribution: the right tail for quarantine policy, the central regions for likely times and sources of infection, and the full distribution for models used in pandemic planning. Our estimates combine published data to give the detail necessary for these and other applications.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Infectious Disease Incubation Period; Male; Middle Aged; Respiratory Tract Infections; Young Adult
PubMed: 19393959
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70069-6 -
BMJ Clinical Evidence Nov 2007About 10-30% of people present to primary healthcare services with sore throat each year. The causative organisms of sore throat may be bacteria (most commonly... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
About 10-30% of people present to primary healthcare services with sore throat each year. The causative organisms of sore throat may be bacteria (most commonly Streptococcus) or viruses (typically rhinovirus), although it is difficult to distinguish bacterial from viral infections clinically.
METHODS AND OUTCOMES
We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of interventions to reduce symptoms of acute infective sore throat? What are the effects of interventions to prevent complications of acute infective sore throat? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to May 2006 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
RESULTS
We found eight systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.
CONCLUSIONS
In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: antibiotics, corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol, and probiotics.
Topics: Acetaminophen; Acute Disease; Administration, Oral; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Humans; Incidence; Pharyngitis; Streptococcal Infections; Streptococcus
PubMed: 19450346
DOI: No ID Found