Janneke W Duijster1, Simone DA Doreleijers1,2, Eva Pilot2, Wim van der Hoek1, Geert Jan Kommer3, Marianne Ab van der Sande1,4,5, Thomas Krafft2,6,7, Liselotte Chi van Asten1. 1. Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands. 2. Department of Health, Ethics and Society, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. 3. Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands. 4. Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 5. Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. 6. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 7. Institute of Environment Education and Research, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune, India.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Syndromic surveillance can supplement conventional health surveillance by analyzing less-specific, near-real-time data for an indication of disease occurrence. Emergency medical call centre dispatch and ambulance data are examples of routinely and efficiently collected syndromic data that might assist in infectious disease surveillance. Scientific literature on the subject is scarce and an overview of results is lacking. METHODS: A scoping review including (i) review of the peer-reviewed literature, (ii) review of grey literature and (iii) interviews with key informants. RESULTS: Forty-four records were selected: 20 peer reviewed and 24 grey publications describing 44 studies and systems. Most publications focused on detecting respiratory illnesses or on outbreak detection at mass gatherings. Most used retrospective data; some described outcomes of temporary systems; only two described continuously active dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic surveillance. Key informants interviewed valued dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic surveillance as a potentially useful addition to infectious disease surveillance. Perceived benefits were its potential timeliness, standardization of data and clinical value of the data. CONCLUSIONS: Various dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic surveillance systems for infectious diseases have been reported, although only roughly half are documented in peer-reviewed literature and most concerned retrospective research instead of continuously active surveillance systems. Dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic data were mostly assessed in relation to respiratory illnesses; reported use for other infectious disease syndromes is limited. They are perceived by experts in the field of emergency surveillance to achieve time gains in detection of infectious disease outbreaks and to provide a useful addition to traditional surveillance efforts.
BACKGROUND: Syndromic surveillance can supplement conventional health surveillance by analyzing less-specific, near-real-time data for an indication of disease occurrence. Emergency medical call centre dispatch and ambulance data are examples of routinely and efficiently collected syndromic data that might assist in infectious disease surveillance. Scientific literature on the subject is scarce and an overview of results is lacking. METHODS: A scoping review including (i) review of the peer-reviewed literature, (ii) review of grey literature and (iii) interviews with key informants. RESULTS: Forty-four records were selected: 20 peer reviewed and 24 grey publications describing 44 studies and systems. Most publications focused on detecting respiratory illnesses or on outbreak detection at mass gatherings. Most used retrospective data; some described outcomes of temporary systems; only two described continuously active dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic surveillance. Key informants interviewed valued dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic surveillance as a potentially useful addition to infectious disease surveillance. Perceived benefits were its potential timeliness, standardization of data and clinical value of the data. CONCLUSIONS: Various dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic surveillance systems for infectious diseases have been reported, although only roughly half are documented in peer-reviewed literature and most concerned retrospective research instead of continuously active surveillance systems. Dispatch- and ambulance-based syndromic data were mostly assessed in relation to respiratory illnesses; reported use for other infectious disease syndromes is limited. They are perceived by experts in the field of emergency surveillance to achieve time gains in detection of infectious disease outbreaks and to provide a useful addition to traditional surveillance efforts.
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Authors: Susana Monge; Janneke Duijster; Geert Jan Kommer; Jan van de Kassteele; Thomas Krafft; Paul Engelen; Jens P Valk; Jan de Waard; Jan de Nooij; Annelies Riezebos-Brilman; Wim van der Hoek; Liselotte van Asten Journal: Influenza Other Respir Viruses Date: 2020-05-14 Impact factor: 4.380