Table 4.
Clinical management and outcomes of travelers’ diarrhea
| Pre-travel consultationa | p valueb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 256) | No (n = 904) | ||
| 1st health care encounter | |||
| Primary Care | 73 (29) | 348 (39) | |
| Infectious Disease (ID) | 39 (15) | 38 (4) | < 0.0001 |
| Emergency/Urgent Care | 32 (13) | 137 (15) | |
| Other Specialtyc | 13 (5) | 89 (10) | |
| Non-Visit Cared | 99 (39) | 292 (32) | |
| ID consultation | 86 (34) | 82 (9) | < 0.0001 |
| Stool sample | 134 (52) | 331 (37) | < 0.0001 |
| Pathogens found | 34/134 (25) | 80/331 (24) | 0.8 |
| Microbiology: | |||
| Campylobacter | 10/34 (29) | 28/80 (35) | 0.6 |
| Escherichia coli | 5/34 (15) | 17/80 (21) | 0.4 |
| Salmonella | 5/34 (15) | 17/80 (21) | 0.4 |
| Shigella | 2/34 (6) | 3/80 (4) | 0.6 |
| Giardia | 6/34 (18) | 6/80 (8) | 0.1 |
| Post-travel antimicrobial prescribede | 187 (73) | 563 (62) | 0.002 |
| Clostridium difficile infection after antimicrobials | 4/187 (2) | 9/563 (2) | 0.6 |
| Hospitalization | 17 (7) | 53 (6) | 0.6 |
| Number of hospital days | 1 (1–2) | 2 (1–4) | 0.02 |
| Short-term complications | 32 (13) | 100 (11) | 0.5 |
| Diarrhea lasting > 4 weeks | 50 (20) | 155 (17) | 0.4 |
| Gastroenterology consultation | 13/50 (26) | 85/155 (55) | 0.0004 |
aCategorical variables are expressed as numbers (%). Continuous variables are expressed as median (interquartile range). IQR interquartile range from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile
bP values were calculated based on Pearson’s chi-square test for categorical variables
cOther specialties included gastroenterology, endocrinology, cardiology, transplant, surgery, etc
dNon-visit care included telephone calls or patient online correspondence between patients and providers
ePost-travel antimicrobials were prescribed either empirically or based on microbiology results, if available. Common post-travel antimicrobials included azithromycin and ciprofloxacin