Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Apr;4(2):120-124.
doi: 10.1136/flgastro-2012-100265. Epub 2012 Dec 14.

Diarrhoeal episodes in travellers suffering from IBD

Pierre Ellul  1 , Valerie Anne Fenech  1 , Christine Azzopardi  1 , Lara Callus  1 , Nicholas Delicata  1 , Jeffrey Muscat  1 , Neville Azzopardi  1 , Mario Vassallo  1
Affiliations

Diarrhoeal episodes in travellers suffering from IBD

Pierre Ellul et al. Frontline Gastroenterol. 2013 Apr.

Abstract

Background and aims: There is limited data on the risk of developing diarrhoea in travelling patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We analysed the rate of developing diarrhoea among travellers suffering from IBD and their healthy controls.

Methods: We performed a retrospective case-controlled study among 78 patients with IBD and their healthy travelling companion controls, thus matching both groups to the same environmental conditions. Data was retrieved through a structured questionnaire, interview and clinical case notes review.

Results: Sixteen (20.5%) patients with IBD developed diarrhoea while abroad (p -0.0001) Statistical analysis using a χ2 test for independence (with Yates Continuity Correction). Prior to travelling, they were in clinical remission. Only one healthy control (1.3%) developed diarrhoea while abroad. In 11 patients (14.1%), the duration of diarrhoea was 3 days or less, and resolved on its own without antibiotics, any increase in their IBD medications and without a medical consultation. The other five patients had a flare-up of their disease and needed medications to put them back into remission. There was no statistically significant difference between patients having immunomodulator medications versus those having aminosalicylates only in developing diarrhoea when abroad.

Conclusions: Patients with IBD have a higher rate of developing diarrhoea compared with controls when travelling. Thus, such patients must always seek a pretravel medical consultation.

Keywords: Infectious Diarrhoea; Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Benoit C, Arlette D-M. The commensal microbiota and enteropathogens in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases. Gastroenterology 2011;140(6):1720–8. - PubMed
    1. Dignass A, Van Assche G, Lindsay JO, et al. The second European evidence based Consensus on the diagnosis and management of Crohn's disease: Current management.European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO). J Crohns Colitis 2010;4:28–62. - PubMed
    1. United Nations World Tourism Organization. Historical perspective of world tourism: international tourist arrivals, 1950–2005. http://www.unwto.org/facts/eng/historical.htm (accessed Apr 2012).
    1. WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. http://www.whocc.no/atc_ddd_index/ (accessed Apr 2012).
    1. United Nations’ Human Developmental Index (HDI) for the year 2011. http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/ (accessed Apr 2012).

LinkOut - more resources