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Background: Long Covid is a widely recognised consequence of COVID-19 infection, but little is known about the burden of symptoms that patients present with in primary care, as these are typically recorded only in free text clinical notes. Aims: To compare symptoms in patients with and without a history of COVID-19, and investigate symptoms associated with a Long Covid diagnosis. Methods: We used primary care electronic health record data until the end of December 2020 from The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a Cegedim database. We included adults registered with participating practices in England, Scotland or Wales. We extracted information about 89 symptoms and 'Long Covid' diagnoses from free text using natural language processing. We calculated hazard ratios (adjusted for age, sex, baseline medical conditions and prior symptoms) for each symptom from 12 weeks after the COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: We compared 11,015 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 18,098 unexposed controls. Only 20% of symptom records were coded, with 80% in free text. A wide range of symptoms were associated with COVID-19 at least 12 weeks post-infection, with strongest associations for fatigue (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 3.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.87, 4.17), shortness of breath (aHR 2.89, 95% CI 2.48, 3.36), palpitations (aHR 2.59, 95% CI 1.86, 3.60), and phlegm (aHR 2.43, 95% CI 1.65, 3.59). However, a limited subset of symptoms were recorded within 7 days prior to a Long Covid diagnosis in more than 20% of cases: shortness of breath, chest pain, pain, fatigue, cough, and anxiety / depression. Conclusions: Numerous symptoms are reported to primary care at least 12 weeks after COVID-19 infection, but only a subset are commonly associated with a GP diagnosis of Long Covid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is common but largely underdiagnosed. Case-finding initiatives have been evaluated in primary care, but few studies have explored the views of service providers on implementing them in practice., Aim: To explore the views of primary health care providers on case finding for COPD., Methods: A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted from March 2014 to September 2014 among general practitioners, nurses, and managers from practices participating in a large COPD case-finding trial based in primary care in the West Midlands, UK. Participants' views were sought to explore perceived benefits, harms, barriers, and facilitators to implementing COPD case finding in practice. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the framework method., Results: Participants felt that case finding improves patient care but also acknowledged potential harms to providers (increase in workload) and to patients (overdiagnosis). Insufficient resources, poor knowledge of COPD, and limited access to diagnostic services were viewed as barriers to diagnosis, while provision of community respiratory services, including COPD specialist nurses, and support from secondary care were thought to be facilitators. Participants also expressed a need for more education on COPD for both patients and clinicians., Conclusion: Care providers believe that early detection of COPD improves patient care but also has accompanying harms. Barriers to diagnosing COPD, such as insufficient expertise in primary care and limited access to diagnostic services in the community, should be explored and addressed. The knowledge and attitudes of the public about COPD and its symptoms should also be investigated to inform future education and awareness-raising strategies.

Background: TB remains a significant problem in the UK with the West Midlands having the highest incidence after London. Treatment is usually for a minimum of 6 months and requires a high level of compliance. We investigated potential determinants of delays and completion of treatment for tuberculosis (TB) in the West Midlands, UK., Methods: We used data on 4840 patients with TB in the West Midlands from the Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance database from 1 January 2005 to 1 October 2010. We used regression models to investigate the cross-sectional association between sociodemographic and clinical risk factors and the timeliness and completion of TB treatment., Results: Patients with TB waited 82 days on average from symptom onset to treatment initiation. Female patients spent 6% longer time than males before receiving treatment [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-11.6%, P = 0.015]. Asian/Asian British patients were 11 times more likely to complete treatment than White patients (adjusted odds ratio: 11.4, 95% CI: 1.31-100.3, P = 0.028)., Conclusions: Females in the West Midlands took longer time to receive TB treatment than males, representing a health inequality that could be addressed through gender-sensitive awareness raising programmes. White patients were less likely to complete treatment than Asian/Asian British patients; additional support is needed in this group.

Background: This is an ecological study that examines the relationship between antiviral drug collection during the 2009/2010 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic, and area-level ethnicity, socioeconomic deprivation and distance from an antiviral collection point (ACP)., Methods: Age-standardized antiviral collection rates (ACR) were calculated for each super output area (geographic areas representing a population of ∼1500) in Sandwell, UK for all residents who received an antiviral drug for influenza-like illness between 23 July 2009 and 7 February 2010. Multivariable regression was used to examine the relationship between ACR and ethnicity (percentage population non-white), socioeconomic deprivation (index of multiple deprivation, IMD) and distance from an ACP., Results: Socioeconomic deprivation, ethnicity and distance from an ACP were independently associated with a reduction in ACR. Each one-point increase in the IMD score was associated with a drop in the ACR of 15.7 prescriptions per 100 000 population (P= 0.013)., Conclusions: Socioeconomic deprivation, ethnicity and distance from an ACP may have influenced health-seeking behaviour during the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic. This suggests possible inequalities in access to antivirals during the most recent influenza pandemic. Qualitative research is needed to examine the reasons for this. Individual-level data on ethnicity should be routinely collected in the event of a future pandemic.