Abstract

Introduction: Reports indicate that 22%–64% of travelers experience some illness when in a foreign country. To date, no prior study has reported the use of ambulances by travelers or the epidemiology of travel-related injury. Methods: In this retrospective study, we aimed to describe ambulance use by international travelers, including the rates of travel-related injury and illness. To do so, ambulance dispatch data from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018 was used. Results: Overall, of the 43201 cases of ambulance use during the study period, 524 (1.2%) were international travelers. Ambulance use by international travelers increased from 0.35% in 2010 (15/4311) to 2.54% in 2018 (125/4913), an average annual increase of 0.27%. Of the international travelers, 392 (74.8%) had minor complaints, 110 cases (21.0%) had moderate complaints, 280 (53.4%) had internal disease, and 223 cases (42.6%) had suffered trauma. Regarding location, 253 (48.3%) were from a hotel/lodge, 83 (15.8%) were from a road/parking, and 30 (5.7%) were in the forest/mountain. Conclusion: Most international travelers use ambulances for minor complaints, typically internal disease or trauma, and approximately half access the service from a hotel or lodge.

Highlights

  • Reports indicate that 22%–64% of travelers experience some illness when in a foreign country

  • The current study aimed to report on ambulance use by international travelers and describe the characteristics of travel-related injury and illness in Japan

  • Overall, there was an upward trend in the percentage of international travelers requiring ambulance dispatch

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Summary

Introduction

Reports indicate that 22%–64% of travelers experience some illness when in a foreign country. No prior study has reported the use of ambulances by travelers or the epidemiology of travel-related injury. Methods: In this retrospective study, we aimed to describe ambulance use by international travelers, including the rates of travel-related injury and illness. Conclusion: Most international travelers use ambulances for minor complaints, typically internal disease or trauma, and approximately half access the service from a hotel or lodge. In Japan, the ambulance system is accessed to transport patients immediately to the nearest hospital or clinic. This is indispensable in preventing fatalities, it can fail to allow the assessment of the severity of a patient’s status. Unlike travel-related illness,[1] injury has not been well reported in previous research

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