Discussions
In this study, we analyzed the distribution of people concerned about adenoid hypertrophy by counting the amount of Baidu Index data and the number of outpatient visits for adenoid hypertrophy over the five years from 2017 to 2021, summarised the correlation between the attention to adenoid hypertrophy and the number of outpatient visits and compared the changes about the Baidu data and the number of visits before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Through this study, we found that the search volume of the Baidu index has a good correlation with the consultation of adenoid hypertrophy, which can predict the consultation of patients well and can reflect the prevalence of adenoid hypertrophy.
Baidu Index is a measurement index based on Internet users’ search data, and its actual meaning is proportional to the total number of searches, which can quantitatively reflect the search trend of a certain keyword[7]. Based on the data of the Baidu Index platform, we found that the number of searches for adenoid hypertrophy increased year by year before the epidemic of COVID-19, indicating that the public paid more and more attention to adenoid hypertrophy and maybe the incidence of adenoid hypertrophy was also increasing year by year. With the popularity of COVID-19, adenoid hypertrophy search volume growth has been curbed, in the first half of 2020, Baidu Index search volume significantly decreased, but from July appeared to an obvious increase, in the same period in the Tiktok appeared a series of adenoid hypertrophy of the science short video, get a lot of attention and forwarding. It shows that the network plays a very important role in the transmission of scientific knowledge. How to use big data to explore the public’s real demand for diseases, and to build a popular science platform, is a problem we need to pay attention to.
Based on the analysis of outpatient visits, we found that before the epidemic of COVID-19, the number of patients treated for adenoid hypertrophy was increasing year by year, and there was a precipitous decline in 2020, and then it recovered to the level of 2019. According to the current data, the epidemic of COVID-19 has suppressed the growth momentum of adenoid hypertrophy, but the data are still few. We still need to record and analyze how the disease will change with the trend of the subsequent epidemic and the change in epidemic prevention policies.
Through the comparative analysis of Baidu search volume and outpatient visits, we can find that the correlation is good before the epidemic of COVID-19, which also indicates that online attention can reflect the disease situation of patients in the real world. But in 2020, the first year of COVID-19, the correlation changed markedly. There was a significant correlation between the number of outpatient visits and Baidu search in the first half of the year, both of which decreased significantly, indicating that the number of patients may have decreased, and the public’s focus of attention may have shifted due to the impact of the epidemic. In the second half of the year, the correlation changed significantly. With the stabilization of the COVID-19, the number of outpatient visits gradually increased, while the value of Baidu search in July and August was significantly higher than that of each year, possibly influenced by popular science videos, which may be a reason for the poor correlation between the two.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and reducing people gathering has become the new watchwords of our lives. It has been reported that high medical mask compliance, early use of masks, and combination with enhanced hand hygiene can reduce the incidence of respiratory infections in the community[8]. As we know, the occurrence of adenoid hypertrophy is highly correlated with upper respiratory tract infection, so a decrease in the incidence of respiratory tract infection is also highly likely to reduce the occurrence of adenoid hypertrophy. It can be seen from the data in this paper that after the outbreak of COVID-19, both the online searches for adenoid hypertrophy and the increase in outpatient visits declined, indicating that wearing masks, hand hygiene, and reducing the gathering and movement of people have a good impact on respiratory infection-related diseases.
Respiratory viruses are mainly transmitted by droplets/aerosols, or by touching the eyes, nose, mouth, and other areas by virus-carrying hands. Masks have an indisputable role in the spread of respiratory viruses. But there are many types of masks, are they all effective in preventing the spread of respiratory infections? A study of seven COVID-19 patients showed that N95 and KF94 masks were significantly superior to surgical masks in inhibiting the transmission of SARS-COV-2 in patients[9]. N95 and KF94 masks of blocking effect are the best and surgical masks also have a better blocking effect, they can prevent the spread of influenza virus droplets, and reduce the coronavirus detection in large droplets and aerosol[10]. For a commercial or homemade face mask, due to the materials and the thickness are different, there is no uniform standard, and its protective effect remains controversial[11]. Therefore, surgical masks are recommended for daily protection in communities.
Hand washing also plays an important role in curbing the spread of disease. It has been reported that hand washing can reduce diarrhea by about 30% [12]. After the outbreak of COVID-19, WHO recommends frequent hand washing to avoid infection, with soap or a hand sanitizer containing 60% alcohol as an option. However, frequent exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitizer in children under 12 years can have adverse effects. Even small amounts of alcohol can cause alcohol poisoning that is responsible for confusion, vomiting, drowsiness, and in severe cases, respiratory arrest and death[13]. Therefore, it is recommended that children, especially infants and young children, avoid using alcohol-based hand sanitizers in their daily health care.
From this paper, we can see that with the improvement of the epidemic situation, the population has become lax in prevention measures such as wearing masks and washing hands frequently. Since the second half of 2020, the Baidu index search volume of adenoid hypertrophy and the number of medical visits have gradually increased. This indicates that wearing a mask and washing hands frequently can reduce the number of visits for adenoid hypertrophy to a certain extent. It is also suggested that for children, especially those aged 3 to 5 years, it is necessary to wear masks and wash hands frequently, which may reduce the incidence of adenoid hypertrophy.
Our research only focused on the Baidu search engine and cannot describe netizens’ attention to other platforms, such as Weibo, and Tiktok. And we need to record and analyze more data to observe the impact of COVID-19 prevention measures on adenoid hypertrophy.