Presentation and management in the returning traveller and fever of unknown origin

Details

Title

Presentation and management in the returning traveller and fever of unknown origin

Type

Stage Two

Module code

HLS228

Requirement

Compulsory

Module objective

By the end of the training period trainees will, in respect to the presentation and management of infections in the returning traveller and fever of unknown origin, be able to analyse, synthesise, evaluate and apply knowledge with respect to i) health and safety issues both locally and nationally in order to practise safely in a laboratory, clinical or other settings and advise on safe practice; ii) risk assessment for dealing with category 3 and 4 pathogens and the requirements for handling such pathogens and iii) the categorization of organisms as set out in the Approved List of Biological Agents (ACDP 2004) be able to:

• analyse, synthesise, evaluate and apply knowledge
• perform risk assessments and develop, refine and evaluate health and safety precautions relating to patient management and demonstrate the attitudes and behaviours necessary for professional practice as a consultant clinical scientist dealing with the complexities, uncertainties and tensions of professional practice at this level.

Knowledge and understanding

By the end of the training period the trainee will be able to demonstrate the ability to analyse, evaluate and synthesise relevant knowledge and its application to their professional practice in relation to:

• the burden of infectious disease in developing countries and be able to advise on the appropriate investigation and management of patients who have recently returned from
• how travellers can minimise their risks of acquiring infections abroad by the use of vaccination, chemoprophylaxis, lifestyle,
• the importance of isolating patients with certain conditions
• where to access guidelines on diagnosing infections in these patients and where to seek specialist advice if required
• how to investigate and diagnose travellers returning from overseas either with specific presentations, e.g. diarrhoea, lymphadenopathy or jaundice or else just presenting with fever of unknown origin
• the common causes of infection in returning travellers such as malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, Dengue, etc. and understand that returning travellers can also present with conditions such as colds, influenza, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
• the common measures available for preventing infection in travellers including:
  • travel vaccination
  • taking sensible precautions when travelling including drinking bottled water, wearing long sleeves in the evening to prevent insect bites and sleeping under bed-nets where appropriate
  • malaria prophylaxis
  • the principles of how to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria and know where to seek specialist advice if required
  • the principles of how to prevent , diagnose and treat patients with typhoid including any infection control precautions
• how to make a preliminary- clinical and epidemiological assessment on a patient presenting with a possible viral haemorrhagic fever and how this patient should be managed including any infection control precautions.
• the importance of and that there are emerging travellers’ or imported infections, e.g. West Nile virus, other arboviruses

Technical and clinical skills

By the end of the training period the trainee will be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of current relevant research, theory and knowledge and its application to the performance, adaptation and mastery to diagnose malaria, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, filariasis, trypanosomiasis, enteric fever, gastro- intestinal bacterial and parasitic infections, viral haemorrhagic fevers, dengue, yellow fever, TB.

By the end of the training period the trainee will be able to perform, adapt and master the clinical skills necessary to:

• take a detailed travel history and make a provisional clinical diagnosis based on this and the patients symptoms.