Imported pathology in the emergency room

Introduction: the increase in migratory movements and travel to low-resource countries in recent years has led to a rise in the incidence of rare infectious diseases in our environment. The objective of the study was to describe the characteristics of patients with imported pathology in the emergency room.

Methods: a retrospective study was conducted between 2012-2019. Children under 16 years of age, treated in the emergencies of Torrejón Hospital, with a history of international travel within 3 months before the visit, were included. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Diagnoses were grouped into three categories: tropical infection (typically imported from tropical areas), communicable infections (including globally distributed infections more prevalent in tropical areas such as tuberculosis), and common infections.

Results: one hundred children were included. The median age was 3 years, and 53% were female. Eighty-seven percent came from sub-Saharan Africa. The reason for the trip was to visit friends and relatives in 43%, immigration in 45%, and tourism in 9%. Four percent received prophylaxis against malaria. Twenty-four children were diagnosed with malaria, six with no history of fever. Other tropical infections included dengue, chikungunya, and liver abscess. Five children were diagnosed with communicable infections (HIV, tuberculosis, meningitis, hepatitis A, giardiasis), and 67 children were diagnosed with common infections.

Conclusions: malaria was the most frequent diagnosis in children with fever after a trip to an endemic area, after common infections. In our study, the initial symptoms of life-threatening imported diseases were indistinguishable from banal infections.