Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis
Abstract Background Travel-related psychiatric disorders range from anxiety disorders to mood disorders, substance abuse, and psychosis. Various travel-associated factors such as dehydration, time shifts, changes in social structures or stress factors are discussed for these disorders. There is a la...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-024-00244-x |
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| author | Achim Burrer Tobias R. Spiller Jose Marie Koussemou Georgios Schoretsanitis Philipp Homan Steffi Weidt Erich Seifritz Stefan Vetter Stephan T. Egger |
| author_facet | Achim Burrer Tobias R. Spiller Jose Marie Koussemou Georgios Schoretsanitis Philipp Homan Steffi Weidt Erich Seifritz Stefan Vetter Stephan T. Egger |
| author_sort | Achim Burrer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Travel-related psychiatric disorders range from anxiety disorders to mood disorders, substance abuse, and psychosis. Various travel-associated factors such as dehydration, time shifts, changes in social structures or stress factors are discussed for these disorders. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the quality and outcome of psychiatric treatment in travelers hospitalized abroad. This study is the first to compare outcome of treatment in psychiatric travelers to domestic patients. Methods We analyzed electronic health records of travelers in the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich from January 2013 to December 2020. Each traveler was matched with one Swiss national and one migrant using propensity score matching. Results Travelers showed inferior CGI-I scores at discharge (F(2,969) = 5.72; p = 0.003). The length of stay was shorter (F(2,969) = 38.74:p < 0.001) for travelers (9.69 ± 14.31) than for Swiss nationals (24.69 ± 29.42) and migrants (24.74 ± 28.62). The transfer rate to another hospital was higher (X 2(2,972) = 50.85: p < 0.001) for travelers (79, 29.4%) than for Swiss nationals (25, 7.7%) or migrants (26, 8.0%). Conclusions Psychiatric treatments of hospitalized travelers showed a lower symptom improvement while presenting a more severe overall condition at discharge. Length of stay was shorter compared to domestic patients. Admission of travelers was initiated involuntarily more frequently. This most closely reflects the theory that travelers are typically hospitalized in severe emergencies and are promptly discharged or repatriated after an initial treatment response has been achieved. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7d39a61d6db49ef8f3d0bcb900a6fe2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2055-0936 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7d39a61d6db49ef8f3d0bcb900a6fe22025-08-20T01:47:33ZengBMCTropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines2055-09362025-04-011111910.1186/s40794-024-00244-xPsychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysisAchim Burrer0Tobias R. Spiller1Jose Marie Koussemou2Georgios Schoretsanitis3Philipp Homan4Steffi Weidt5Erich Seifritz6Stefan Vetter7Stephan T. Egger8Department of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichDepartment of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichFaculty of Medicine, University of UlmDepartment of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichDepartment of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichPsychiatric Services St. GallenDepartment of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichDepartment of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichDepartment of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of ZurichAbstract Background Travel-related psychiatric disorders range from anxiety disorders to mood disorders, substance abuse, and psychosis. Various travel-associated factors such as dehydration, time shifts, changes in social structures or stress factors are discussed for these disorders. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the quality and outcome of psychiatric treatment in travelers hospitalized abroad. This study is the first to compare outcome of treatment in psychiatric travelers to domestic patients. Methods We analyzed electronic health records of travelers in the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich from January 2013 to December 2020. Each traveler was matched with one Swiss national and one migrant using propensity score matching. Results Travelers showed inferior CGI-I scores at discharge (F(2,969) = 5.72; p = 0.003). The length of stay was shorter (F(2,969) = 38.74:p < 0.001) for travelers (9.69 ± 14.31) than for Swiss nationals (24.69 ± 29.42) and migrants (24.74 ± 28.62). The transfer rate to another hospital was higher (X 2(2,972) = 50.85: p < 0.001) for travelers (79, 29.4%) than for Swiss nationals (25, 7.7%) or migrants (26, 8.0%). Conclusions Psychiatric treatments of hospitalized travelers showed a lower symptom improvement while presenting a more severe overall condition at discharge. Length of stay was shorter compared to domestic patients. Admission of travelers was initiated involuntarily more frequently. This most closely reflects the theory that travelers are typically hospitalized in severe emergencies and are promptly discharged or repatriated after an initial treatment response has been achieved.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-024-00244-xTravelerTouristPsychiatricInpatientRepatriationTravel-related psychosis |
| spellingShingle | Achim Burrer Tobias R. Spiller Jose Marie Koussemou Georgios Schoretsanitis Philipp Homan Steffi Weidt Erich Seifritz Stefan Vetter Stephan T. Egger Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines Traveler Tourist Psychiatric Inpatient Repatriation Travel-related psychosis |
| title | Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis |
| title_full | Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis |
| title_fullStr | Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis |
| title_short | Psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital: a retrospective analysis |
| title_sort | psychiatric treatment outcomes of travelers admitted to a psychiatric hospital a retrospective analysis |
| topic | Traveler Tourist Psychiatric Inpatient Repatriation Travel-related psychosis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-024-00244-x |
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