Seasonality of cellulitis: evidence from Google Trends

Infect Drug Resist. 2018 May 3:11:689-693. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S163290. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Introduction: According to our clinical experience, cellulitis is common in summer; however, very few studies have mentioned this trend.

Methods: Using Google Trends, we analyzed the monthly data of Google searches for "cellulitis" from 31 countries on 6 continents.

Results: Seasonality explained 34%-92% of the variability in search volume, with peaks occurring in summer months.

Conclusion: The analyses offered new insights into the epidemiology of cellulitis on national and international scales. Clinical data are needed to validate the Internet search data.

Keywords: Internet search; cellulitis; seasonality.