Clinical and laboratory profile of febrile respiratory infections in general practice.

Background: Respiratory tract infection (RTI) is a common diagnosis in the primary care setting. The aim of the study was to characterize the clinical course and laboratory manifestations of febrile RTI in Israeli adults presenting to primary care clinics.

Methods: A prospective study over a 3-month winter period in 3 urban university primary care clinics of 122 consecutive adult patients seen by their family practitioners.