Profile and complexity of travel medicine consultations in Chile: unicentric cross-sectional study

Journal
BMJ Open
ISSN
2044-6055
Date Issued
2020
Author(s)
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85090320703
WoS ID
WOS:000570963700043
DOI
URL
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>To analyse the spectrum, vaccination needs and pretravel advice complexity of travellers presenting at a travel medicine clinic in Santiago, Chile.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Design</jats:title><jats:p>Cross-sectional study.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Setting</jats:title><jats:p>Pretravel consultations in a private healthcare centre in Chile, an ‘emerging market’ country in South America.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Participants</jats:title><jats:p>Travellers (n=1341) seeking pretravel advice at the Travel Medicine Program of Clínica Alemana, Santiago, from April 2016 to March 2018.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Primary and secondary outcome measures</jats:title><jats:p>Demographical and travel characteristics, indications for travel vaccines and malaria prophylaxis, and complexity of travel consultations.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Of 1341 travellers, 51% were female; the median age was 33 years. Most frequent travel reasons were tourism (67%) and business (20%). Median travel duration and time to departure were 21 days and 28 days, respectively. Most destinations were located in America (41%), followed by Asia (36%) and Africa (26%); 96% visited less developed countries, mostly in tropical regions, with risk of arboviral infections (94%) and malaria (69%). The indicated vaccine indications comprised hepatitis A (84%), yellow fever (58%), typhoid fever (51%), rabies (29%), polio (8%), Japanese encephalitis (6%) and meningococcal meningitis (5%). More than 60% of consultations were classified as complex.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>The studied population mostly visited less developed tropical regions, resulting in a high requirement of yellow fever and other travel-related vaccinations. Most consultations were complex and required a comprehensive knowledge and training in travel medicine.</jats:p></jats:sec>
Cite this document
Weitzel, T. (2020). Profile and complexity of travel medicine consultations in Chile: Unicentric cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 10(9), e037903. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037903
Subjects
preventive medicine

; 

tropical medicine

; 

tropical medicine

; 

adult

; 

africa

; 

asia

; 

chile

; 

cross-sectional studies

; 

female

; 

humans

; 

male

; 

referral and consultation

; 

travel

; 

travel medicine

; 

travel-related illness

; 

vaccination

; 

hepatitis a vaccine

; 

japanese encephalitis vaccine

; 

malaria vaccine

; 

measles vaccine

; 

meningococcus vaccine

; 

poliomyelitis vaccine

; 

rabies vaccine

; 

typhoid vaccine

; 

yellow fever vaccine

; 

adolescent

; 

adult

; 

africa

; 

age

; 

aged

; 

arbovirus infection

; 

article

; 

asia

; 

child

; 

chile

; 

commercial phenomena

; 

consultation

; 

controlled study

; 

cross-sectional study

; 

demography

; 

developing country

; 

emporiatrics

; 

epidemic meningitis

; 

female

; 

flight

; 

health center

; 

hepatitis a

; 

human

; 

infant

; 

infection risk

; 

japanese encephalitis

; 

leisure

; 

major clinical study

; 

malaria

; 

malaria control

; 

male

; 

measles

; 

poliomyelitis

; 

rabies

; 

south america

; 

tourism

; 

tropics

; 

typhoid fever

; 

western hemisphere

; 

yellow fever

; 

epidemiology

; 

patient referral

; 

travel

; 

travel related disease

; 

vaccination