P332 Multinational comparisons of practices in overseas travel in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. (25th January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Greveson, K; Inglis, C; Ben-Horin, S; Ghaly, S; Yunki, Y; Leong, R
• Is Part Of: Journal of Crohn's and colitis. Volume 13(2019)Supplement 1
• Page Start: S267
• Page End: S267
• Publication Date: 2019-01-25
• Subjects: Inflammatory bowel diseases -- Periodicals; 616.344005
• DOI: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjy222.456
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1873-9946

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Travelling overseas with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has increases in morbidity, however few studies have examined these risks. The aims of this multinational study were to identify global travel-preparation and travel practices in IBD patients, predicting who will experience barriers when travelling overseas. Methods: Patients from gastroenterology clinics in Australia, England, and Israel were invited to participate in the study. Surveyed topics included disease type and management, pre-travel advice, use of travel insurance, amount of overseas travel, and flare-ups during travel. Participants who answered questions assessing difficulties travelling overseas were defined as experiencing a barrier. Binary logistic regression was used to examine predictors of experiencing barriers. Results: Survey respondents (n = 1887) from England (n = 1507), Israel (n = 42) and Australia (n = 338) had a mean age range of 30–49 years, 75.6% female (n = 1657), and 60.2% had Crohn's disease. Pre-travel advice was obtained mostly from IBD specialists (32.7%) and GPs (27.6%), and pertinent pre-travel advice patients requested related to travel insurance (39.6%), care of IBD during travel (28.4%) and drug infusions and transportation (28%). Vaccination rates pre-travel was only 16%. Multi-variate logistic regression indicate significant predictors of experiencing a barrier during overseas travel were sex ( p < 0.05, β = 1.39), appropriate travel preparation (β = 3.96, 95% CI 1.07–1.80), IBD severity (β = 1.35, 95% CI 1.70–9.19), and education (β = 1.57, 95% CI 1.23–2.00). Conclusions: This study is the first to examine international travel practices in the IBD population with a multi-national cohort. As such the results of this study will help inform current IBD specialists how best to prepare IBD patients for international travel.