Department of Pediatrics. Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João. Porto; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Pediatrics. Faculty of Medicine. University of Porto. Porto. Portugal.
Department of Infectious Diseases. Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João. Porto. Portugal.
Acta Med Port. 2022 Nov 2;35(11):816-822. doi: 10.20344/amp.16782. Epub 2022 Jun 6.
Children and adolescents are a relevant and increasing proportion of travelers. Injuries and infectious diseases in children are safety concerns when traveling. However, data on diseases and injuries during international travels in children are not available. The aims of this study were to analyze travel-related diseases and injuries among pediatric travelers during and after international trips, to identify risk factors for travel-associated disease, and to evaluate the compliance and effectiveness of the recommendations provided in pre-travel appointments.
We enrolled travelers aged under 18 years attending a pre-travel clinic, in a tertiary hospital (2017 - 2019); 223 of the 370 pediatric travelers attending the pre-travel clinic were included. The study was based on a questionnaire designed to address health and safety issues - vaccines and chemoprophylaxis, including side effects, the occurrence of disease or injury, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.
The median age at pre-travel evaluation was eight years; 39.7% of the travelers were adolescents, 52.5% were female. The participants traveled to 40 countries across four continents, with a median travel duration of 14.5 days. Asia was the most visited continent. Traveling was safe for 84.8%. From 34 travelers who had illness/injury, gastrointestinal symptoms were elicited in 41.2%. Sixteen (47.1%) travelers required an urgent medical appointment at the destination, and no one was hospitalized. Destinations in Africa and longer trips were significantly associated with a higher occurrence of disease/injury (p = 0.023 and p < 0.001, respectively). In a multivariable model, traveling to Africa was still significantly associated with travel-related disease/injury [OR = 2.736 (1.037 - 7.234)].
Disease/injury occurred in 15.2% of pediatric travelers. Even though 47.1% of the travelers required an urgent medical appointment, the developed conditions were not severe enough to warrant hospitalization. Travels to Africa and longer trips seem to be associated with a higher risk of disease and injury.
儿童和青少年是旅行者中一个重要且不断增加的群体。儿童在旅行时的受伤和传染病是安全隐患。然而，关于儿童国际旅行中的疾病和伤害的数据尚不可用。本研究的目的是分析国际旅行期间和之后儿科旅行者的旅行相关疾病和伤害，确定与旅行相关疾病的危险因素，并评估旅行前咨询中提供的建议的依从性和有效性。
我们招募了在一家三级医院（2017-2019 年）参加旅行前诊所的年龄在 18 岁以下的旅行者；在参加旅行前诊所的 370 名儿科旅行者中，有 223 名被纳入研究。该研究基于一份旨在解决健康和安全问题的问卷，包括疫苗和化学预防措施，包括副作用、疾病或伤害的发生、诊断、治疗和结果。
旅行前评估的中位数年龄为 8 岁；39.7%的旅行者是青少年，52.5%是女性。参与者前往四大洲的 40 个国家，旅行时间中位数为 14.5 天。亚洲是访问最多的大陆。旅行是安全的，占 84.8%。在 34 名出现疾病/伤害的旅行者中，有 41.2%出现胃肠道症状。16 名（47.1%）旅行者在目的地需要紧急医疗预约，无人住院。前往非洲和旅行时间较长与疾病/伤害发生率较高显著相关（p = 0.023 和 p < 0.001）。在多变量模型中，前往非洲与旅行相关疾病/伤害仍显著相关[OR = 2.736（1.037-7.234）]。
儿科旅行者中 15.2%出现疾病/伤害。尽管 47.1%的旅行者需要紧急医疗预约，但病情并不严重，无需住院治疗。前往非洲和旅行时间较长似乎与更高的疾病和伤害风险相关。
