Table 2.
Changes of symptoms of acute respiratory tract infection before and after the physician’s educational intervention.
| Symptoms | Totala, no. (%) | Educational intervention | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beforea, no. (%) | Aftera, no. (%) | ||
| Fever | 6021 (33.4) | 3370 (33.7) | 2651 (33.1) |
| Cough and/or rhinorrhea | 13,106 (72.8) | 7416 (74.1) | 5690 (71.1) |
| Odynophagia | 9581 (53.2) | 5148 (51.5) | 4433 (55.4) |
| Tonsillar exudate | 1504 (8.4) | 683 (6.8) | 821 (10.3) |
| Purulent eye discharge | 329 (1.8) | 200 (2.0) | 129 (1.6) |
| Painful cervical lymph nodes | 1251 (6.9) | 496 (5.0) | 755 (9.4) |
| Dyspnea | 1726 (9.6) | 1015 (10.1) | 711 (8.9) |
| Increased expectoration | 3449 (19.2) | 2001 (20.0) | 1448 (18.1) |
| Purulent sputum | 1416 (7.9) | 835 (8.3) | 581 (7.3) |
| None of the aforementioned | 301 (1.7) | 170 (1.7) | 131 (1.6) |
Total number of patients before the intervention was 10,002 and after the intervention was 7999.
aFrequency of symptoms is expressed as numbers and percentages in the overall study population and divided according to the time at which the patient was evaluated by the primary care physician, before or after the intervention.