Travel medicine facilities: The first nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire survey in Japan.

INTRODUCTION

Travel medicine has gained importance in recent years; however, there is little data regarding travel medicine departments in Japanese hospitals.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study contacted 488 hospitals designated by either the Japanese government or major Japanese associations. A questionnaire comprising 11 questions pertaining to the availability of pre-travel consultation, out-of-hours service for travel-related patients, number of medical doctors engaged in travel medicine and infectious disease specialists, and the number of negative pressure rooms available for inpatients and outpatients was distributed. It also asked about the facilities available to combat specific diseases like malaria, dengue, and post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies as these are most common diseases affecting returning travelers.

RESULTS

Of the 263 hospitals (58.7%) that responded to our questionnaire, 82 hospitals (31.2%) provided pre-travel consulting, 188 hospitals (72.0%) accepted travel-related patients out-of-hours, median (interquartile range [IQR]) number of medical doctors involved in travel medicine was 1 (0-3), and median (IQR) number of patients accepted for admission was 2 (1-4). Only 106 (41%) hospitals could diagnose malaria at any time, 56 hospitals (21%) could immediately provide oral anti-malarial medicines; rapid diagnostic test for dengue was available in 99 hospitals (39%), while 67 hospitals (26%) could immediately administer post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies.

CONCLUSIONS

Japan's medical care system is concerned about illnesses-especially malaria, dengue and rabies in returned travelers. We suggest construction of a medical care system centered on designated medical facilities for category I and II infectious diseases to build capacity for early diagnosis and treatment of common tropical infectious diseases.