Fever in returned travelers: Review of hospital admissions for a 3-year period

Abstract

We reviewed 232 consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary-care hospital under the care of an infectious diseases unit for management of febrile illness acquired overseas. A total of 53% presented to hospital within 1 week of return and 96% within 6 months. Malaria was the most common diagnosis (27% of patients), followed by respiratory tract infection (24%), gastroenteritis (14%), dengue fever (8%), and bacterial pneumonia (6%). Pretravel vaccination may have prevented a number of admissions, including influenza (n = 11), typhoid fever (n = 8) and hepatitis A (n = 6). Compared to those who had not traveled to Africa, those who had were 6 times more likely to present with falciparum than no..