Infectious complications related to medical tourism.
J Travel Med
; 28(1)2021 01 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33159509
BACKGROUND: Medical tourism has been increasing dramatically globally, with people travelling from developed countries to low-income or middle-income countries, often to avoid high costs or long delays associated with seeking healthcare in their countries of origin. The current review summarizes healthcare-related infections associated with medical tourism, focusing on cosmetic surgery and organ transplantation. METHODS: A systematic MEDLINE and PubMed search from January 2010 to December 2019 yielded 80 relevant articles, including 49 articles on medical tourism-related infections focusing on cosmetic surgery and organ transplantation, which were included in this reviews. RESULTS: The literature reveals specific types of cross-border, healthcare-related infections depending on medical intervention. Destinations include low-income countries such as countries of Asia and the Indian subcontinent, middle-income countries including Central and South America, and high-income countries such as the United States and Europe. In terms of type of infections, in 36 (68%) and 15 (28.3%) studies, wound and blood-borne infections were documented, respectively, while in 21 studies (58.3%) non-tuberculous mycobacteria were isolated, including Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium chelonae, Mycobacterium senegalense and Mycobacterium fortuitum. The choices of medical tourists could have significant consequences for them and their home countries, including infectious complications and importation of pathogens, particularly antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, with public health implications. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for public health strategies in order to prevent morbidity and mortality as well as future management and education of patients engaging in medical tourism.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Turismo Médico
Tipo de estudo:
Systematic_reviews
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
/
America do sul
/
Asia
/
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Travel Med
Assunto da revista:
DOENCAS TRANSMISSIVEIS
/
SAUDE PUBLICA
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Grécia
País de publicação:
Reino Unido