Travel medicine Flashcards
How may international travel upset a person’s equilibrium making them susceptible to disease?
- sudden exposure to sig changes in altitude, humidity, microbial flora, sunlight, and temperature, exacerbated by stress and fatigue, may result in ill-health and an inability to achieve purpose of travel
What are key factors determining health risks to which travelers may be exposed?
- destinations
- duration of visit
- purpose of visit
- std of accommodation and food hygiene
- behavior of traveler
What are some pre-trop recommendations?
- basic medical kit
- analgesics (acetaminophenm aspirin, ibuprofen)
- abx for self-tx of diarrhea (chipper, azithro)
- anti-diarrheals: bismuth subsalicylate (pepto), loperamide (imodium)
- antihistamines
- antimalarials
- antinausea/motion sickness (benedryl, dramamine) meds
- sleeping meds
- insect repellent
- water purifier or tablets
- cold/sinus/cough med
- sunscreen
- wound dressings
- antiseptic
Pre-travel consultation with pt?
- risk assessment: itinerary
traveler demographics, emphasis on not traveling while sick - discussion with pt: vaccinations, prophylaxis, specific advice about self tx (traveler’s diarrhea), pre-tx of chronic health issues
Medical planning: determine destination?
- investigate specific risks associated with that region
- ID travel clinic that can acquire specific vaccines read
What enivironmental precautions should you be aware of?
- air travel
- jet lag (melatonin)
- sun protection
- extreme heat and cold: dehydration, heat stroke, hypothermia, frostbite
- altitude
- water recreation
Food and water precautions?
- bottled water!!!
- selection of foods: well cooked and hot
- avoid: salads, raw veggies, unpasteurized dairy products, street vendors, ice
Pre-existing health status concerns?
Flying:
CVD: less than 3 weeks post MI, longer “wait” following complicated courses, 2 weeks post CABG
pulmonary disease: 2-3 weeks post chest tube removal, PaO2:
What vaccines should be up to date?
- polio
- Hep A and B
- meningococcal
- influenza
- tetanus, diptheria, pertusis
- MMR
- Varicella
Vaccines you may need?
- Typhoid
- yellow fever
- rabies
- japanese Encephalitis
- cholera
- tick-borne encephalitis
- TB
When should you have Hep A vaccine?
endemic areas- Asia, central America, Africa, Mexico, caribbean
Motion sickness prophylaxis?
- meclizine
- promethazine (need Rx)
- Transdermal scopolamine (Rx)
- most must be taken before trip
- prometh. works after sxs start
- drowsiness can be sig
Why does jet lag occur?
- disturbance of circadian rhythms due to crossing time barriers
- sxs: fatigue, irritability, nausea, difficulty concentrating
Destination altitude sickness sxs?
- HA and one or more of the following:
- nausea
- vomiting
- fatigue
- malaise
- insomnia
- due to relative hypoxemia and delay in development of compensatory erythrocytosis
Acute mountain sickness?
- usually acclimatization occurs in 2-3 days
- 30% incidence at 3000 M, 75% at 4500 M
Prevention of altitude sickness?
- gradual ascent - 300 M/day
- spend a few days at intermediate altitudes
- slowly ascend at > 2500 m
- spend an extra night for every 600-900 m if continuing to ascend, climb high and sleep low
- avoid alcohol and sedative hypnotics
High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)
- combo of low hypoxic ventilatory drive and over perfusion
- young physically fit males most susceptible
sxs: weakness, decreased exercise performance, chest congestion, dyspnea, wheezing
signs: wheezing, crackles (rales), cyanosis, tachycardia - must have 2 signs and 2 sxs for dx
TX of HAPE?
- Rx: Diamox aka
- acetazolamide: mild diuretic that increases amount of excreted bicarb, which in turn increases the blood pH which in turn causes you to hyperventilate which increases O2 saturation.
- steroids: dexamethasone
- Nifedipine: decreases pulmonary hypertension, improves oxygen saturations
High altitude cerebral edema (HACE) signs and sxs?
- Hallucinations
- focal near signs
- seizures
- stupor
- coma
- MEDICAL emergency: pts need high flow O2 and prompt descent to lower altitude
- dexamethasone to reduce edema
- can have HACE and HAPE simultaneously
What are you worried about with snorkeling and diving?
- stings and envenomization
- coelenterate family:
sea urchins, jellyfish, anemones, portuguese man-o-war - release nematocysts from tentacles
- tx with vinegar
Tx for sea bathers eruption (sea lice)
- papulovesicular rash caused by larvae of coelenterates
Rx: shower, soak affected part in vinegar, throw away bathing suit, more susceptible after initial infestation: future infestations can cause severe allergic rxns
Where can you get cholera?
- 0-5 cases per year in US, major cause of epidemic diarrhea throughout the developing world. Its an ongoing global pandemic in Asia, Africa, and Latin America for the last four decades
Sign of cholera?
- rice water diarrhea
- vomiting, circulatory collapse and shock. Many infections may only have milder diarrhea or be asymptomatic
- prognosis: 5-50% typical cases are fatal if untx
Prevention of cholera?
routine immunization isn’t recommended for conventional travelers from US, although vaccination is approp. for aid and refugee workers to endemic areas in high risk situations
Prevention/tx of cholera?
- natural infection and currently available vaccines offer incomplete protection of relatively short duration, no multivalent vaccines available
- simple rehydration tx saves lives, but logistics of delivery in remote areas remains difficult during epidemic periods
- adjunct abx tx is helpful but may be difficult b/c of growing antimicrobial resistance
- natural reservoir in warm coastal waters makes eradication very unlikely
Locations of Hepatitis A and B
- worldwide: can be isolated cases or epidemic
- 1.25 million chronic Hep B infections in US
Signs of Hepatitis?
- jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, 30% asymptomatic
Tx of Hep B?
- Adefovir, dipivoxil, interferons, lamivudine, entecavir, and telbivudine used for tx of chronic Hep B
- new txs: high cure rates -> Harvoni
Typhoid?
infection with salmonella typhi
- 16 mill cases & 600K deaths/year
- mainly in undeveloped countries with contaminated water supplies
sxs and tx of typhoid?
- high fever
- rose colored rash***
- abdominal pains
- diarrhea
- tx: ampicillin, SMX/TMP, cipro
locations of typhoid?
- greatest risk for travelers to S. Asia, developing countries in Asia, Africa, Caribbean, and Central and S. America (approx. 400 cases occur in US/ year 75% international travel)
Signs of typhoid?
high fever 103-104
- HA, malaise, anorexia, splenomegaly, rash of flat rose-colored spots and bradycardia
- many mild and atypical infections occur