Reasons for seeking care and adherence to pretravel preparation in expatriate or long-term travelers' children in the tropics: A French prospective study

BACKGROUND

Studies on pediatric travelers' health rarely address expat or long-term travelers' children.

METHOD

To investigate reasons for seeking care and adherence to pretravel preparation, we prospectively enrolled French children 0-15 years old, either expatriates or staying >6 months in tropical areas, who attended a French health center in Africa, Central America or Southern Pacific regions from October 01, 2011 to October 31, 2012. A standardized questionnaire was completed by a general practitioner at each visit, then anonymized and included in our database.

RESULTS

464 questionnaires were collected from 367 children (sex ratio M/F: 1:1). Median age was 6.4 years (IQR: 3.6; 10.3). Reasons for seeking care were mostly infections (n = 378), of which 12 (3.2%) were tropical. There were no deaths, but one child with tuberculosis was repatriated. Coverage was high for routine immunization, but less for travel-related vaccines. Personal antivectorial protection was significantly lower in children aged >5 y or in non-malarial areas. Where indicated, malarial chemoprophylaxis was prescribed to only one third of the children, of whom 60% were poorly compliant. Advice regarding measures against diarrhea and sunburn was followed significantly more for stays >2 yrs.

CONCLUSION

Mild cosmopolitan illnesses predominated but protection against tropical threats should be optimized before and during the stay.

Long term health outcomes among Returned Peace Corps Volunteers after malaria prophylaxis, 1995-2014

BACKGROUND

A primary reason for non-adherence to malaria chemoprophylaxis is fear of latent side effects. We examined latent effects of malaria chemoprophylaxis among Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).

METHODS

During July 18-September 16, 2016, RPCVs who served during 1995-2014 with an e-mail address in Peace Corps' RPCV database were invited to take an internet-based survey on malaria prophylaxis and medical diagnoses. "Good adherence" meant taking prophylaxis "as prescribed" or "most of the time." Prevalence of diseases diagnosed after Peace Corps service was compared between users and nonusers of each antimalarial using log-binomial regression.

RESULTS

Of 8931 participants (11% response rate), 5055 (57%) took chemoprophylaxis. Initial chemoprophylaxis was mefloquine 59%, chloroquine 13%, doxycycline 16%, atovaquone-proguanil 4%, and "other" 8%. Sixty percent reported good adherence. Mefloquine users had the best adherence (67% good adherence). Prevalences of most diseases were similar between exposed and unexposed groups. Certain psychiatric diagnoses were slightly more likely among mefloquine users (PR 1.14, 95% CI [1.04-1.25], P = 0.0048). When excluding those with prior psychiatric illness, there were no differences in psychiatric diagnosis rates.

CONCLUSION

Malaria chemoprophylaxis use by Peace Corps Volunteers is safe. Avoiding mefloquine use in those with prior psychiatric illness can reduce psychiatric side effects.