Ocular-symptoms-related Google Search Trends during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe

Mirza, Enver; Mirza, Günsu Deniz; Belviranlı, Selman; Oltulu, Refik; Okka, Mehmet

doi:10.1007/s10792-021-01782-5

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Deiner et al reported an increased search interest in terms representing conjunctivitis and other ocular surface conditions during the spring of 2020, supporting previous literature describing ocular symptoms in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 [ 19 , 20 ]. Mirza et al reported a correlation between keywords pertaining to ocular symptoms of COVID-19 and the number of new COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic [ 21 ]. These results together support prior articles suggesting ocular signs and transmission of the coronavirus, likely due inability of the immune system to defend against pathogens in the tear film [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Interest in Refractive Diseases and Treatments During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Google Trends Analysis

Gupta¹,

Pakhchanian²,

Raiker³

et al. 2021

Cureus

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To assess national internet search trends/public interest in refractive diseases and treatments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsA Google Trends search for refractive terms was performed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Refractive terms were divided into disease and treatment terms. Relative search volume (RSV) indices were assessed in the United States from the initial lockdown period (March 1 -June 28), summer reopening period (July 5 -November 1), and winter case surge/vaccine rollout period (November 8 -February 28). A t-test of two independent samples assuming unequal variances was utilized in comparing the pandemic year to pooled data of overlapping weeks between 2016-2019. ResultsThe majority of disease and treatment terms showed a significant decrease in RSV during the initial lockdown period (p<0.05). There was a significant increase in RSV for cataract, astigmatism, cataract surgery, and photorefractive keratotomy (PRK) (p<0.05), accompanied by a significant decrease in RSV for contact lens during the summer reopening period. There was a significant increase in RSV for cataract, astigmatism, glasses, and PRK, accompanied by a significant decrease in RSV for hyperopia, keratoconus, contact lens, and LASIK during the winter case surge/vaccine rollout period. ConclusionThere was a significant decrease in the public interest in refractive diseases and treatments during the lockdown period, accompanied by an increase in interest later in the year. Decreased public interest can lead to delays in care, poorer health literacy, and potentially worse outcomes. Strategies to enhance public interest and care during the pandemic may prove to be beneficial.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Interest in Refractive Diseases and Treatments During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Google Trends Analysis

Gupta¹,

Pakhchanian²,

Raiker³

et al. 2021

Cureus

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“…Google Trends dramatically simplifies and speeds data collection on netizens’ web interests, and it has been used to conduct medical, psychological, sociological, epidemiological, and economic investigations [ 25 ]. However, many authors have questioned its reliability because of the mass media’s influence on web searches [ 25 - 28 ]. Although this influence may jeopardize the adoption of Google Trends in many research areas, it remains suitable for conducting infodemiological investigations; in fact, if certain conditions are met (ie, high internet penetration, high Google use, and data set stability), the relative search volumes (RSVs) on Google Trends faithfully reflect the interests of a population [ 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Mass Media on Italian Web Users During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiological Analysis

Rovetta¹,

Castaldo²

2021

JMIRx Med

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Background Concurrently with the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been facing a growing infodemic, which has caused severe damage to economic and health systems and has often compromised the effectiveness of infection containment regulations. Although this infodemic has spread mainly through social media, there are numerous occasions on which mass media outlets have shared dangerous information, giving resonance to statements without a scientific basis. For these reasons, infoveillance and infodemiology methods are increasingly exploited to monitor information traffic on the web and make epidemiological predictions. Objective The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of Italian mass media on users’ web searches to understand the role of press and television channels in both the infodemic and the interest of Italian netizens in COVID-19. Methods We collected the headlines published from January 2020 to March 2021 containing specific COVID-19–related keywords published on PubMed, Google, the Italian Ministry of Health website, and the most-read newspapers in Italy. We evaluated the percentages of infodemic terms on these platforms. Through Google Trends, we searched for cross-correlations between newspaper headlines and COVID-19–related web searches. Finally, we analyzed the web interest in infodemic content posted on YouTube. Results During the first wave of COVID-19, the Italian press preferred to draw on infodemic terms (rate of adoption: 1.6%-6.3%) and moderately infodemic terms (rate of adoption: 88%-94%), while scientific sources favored the correct names (rate of adoption: 65%-88%). The correlational analysis showed that the press heavily influenced users in adopting terms to identify the novel coronavirus (cross-correlations of ≥0.74 to ≤0.89, P value <.001; maximum lag=1 day). The use of scientific denominations by the press reached acceptable values only during the third wave (approximately 80%, except for the television services Rai and Mediaset). Web queries about COVID-19 symptoms also appeared to be influenced by the press (best average correlation=0.92, P<.007). Furthermore, web users showed pronounced interest in YouTube videos of an infodemic nature. Finally, the press gave resonance to serious “fake news” on COVID-19, which caused pronounced spikes of interest from web users. Conclusions Our results suggest that the Italian mass media have played a decisive role in spreading the COVID-19 infodemic and addressing netizens’ web interest, thus favoring the adoption of terms that are unsuitable for identifying COVID-19. Therefore, the directors of news channels and newspapers should be more cautious, and government dissemination agencies should exert more control over such news stories.

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“…From the beginning of the pandemic, direct or indirect contamination of the conjunctival epithelium with infectious droplets was suggested as a possible route of transmission of COVID-19 [ 14 ]. The ocular surface can serve as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous Encephalitis and Neuroretinitis After COVID-19 in a Young Adult: A Case Report

Poursadeghfard

Dorche

Nemati³

et al. 2021

J Neurol Res

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic greatly impacted many aspects of life in the world. Both neurological and ophthalmologic presentations after COVID-19 have been reported. Herein, we present a case of both neuroretinitis and encephalitis after COVID-19 in a young adult. Both presentations are among the rare presentations of COVID-19. Similar manifestations were not reported previously. The 18-year-old previously healthy girl initially presented with low-grade fever, nausea, vomiting, body pain, and headache. The patient tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using a nasal swab. Two days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, she reported blurred vision in both eyes, progressing to only light perception in 3 days. Based on the ophthalmological evaluation, she was diagnosed with neuroretinitis. A few days later, she gradually became drowsy, so she was referred for neurological evaluation. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed bilateral medial temporal T2 and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyper-signal lesions suggestive of encephalitis. A low-dose steroid was started to treat the neuroretinitis. After about 2 weeks, significant improvement in visual acuity and resolution of retinitis patches were observed. Our case is rare in respect of both neurological and ophthalmic involvement.

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Ocular-symptoms-related Google Search Trends during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe

Cited by 10 publications

References 19 publications

Public Interest in Refractive Diseases and Treatments During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Google Trends Analysis

Public Interest in Refractive Diseases and Treatments During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Google Trends Analysis

Influence of Mass Media on Italian Web Users During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiological Analysis

Simultaneous Encephalitis and Neuroretinitis After COVID-19 in a Young Adult: A Case Report

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