title: Admissions for imported and non-imported parasitic diseases at a General Hospital in Spain: A retrospective analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze imported and non-imported parasitic diseases as a cause of admission to a general hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis of hospital admissions for parasitic diseases between 2004 and 2013 performed by means of hospital information systems at a public hospital in the city of Castellón (Spain).
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the period covered in this study, there were 204,349 admissions, 213 of which were for parasitic diseases (prevalence: 1.04/1000 admission). 129 were neglected parasitic tropical diseases and 61 were imported parasitic diseases. The main parasitic diseases were hydatidosis (24.9%), visceral leishmaniasis (22.5%) and malaria (12.2%). There was a decrease in admissions for visceral leishmaniasis in the 2004-2008 period from 27.7% to 15.9% in the 2009-2013 period (p < 0.001), and an increase in admissions for malaria from 5.0% to 21.3% (p < 0.001). 38 (20.3%) of the 187 patients with parasitic diseases were HIV infected. HIV infection was more common in patients with toxoplasmosis (94.1%; p < 0.001), cryptosporidiosis (66.7%; p < 0.02) and visceral leishmaniasis (46.4%; p = 0.003). There were 34 (18.2%) children with parasitic diseases. Twelve of the 28 patients with visceral leishmaniasis (42.9%; p < 0.001), and 11 of the 17 patients with soil-transmitted diseases were children (64.7%; p < 0.001). The cause of death in eight patients was parasitic disease related (mortality rate: 4.3%). The mortality rate for visceral leishmaniasis was significantly higher (14.3%; p = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main cause is endemic parasitic diseases such as hydatidosis. Visceral leishmaniasis decreased during the period covered by the study, but malaria increased.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari General de Castelló, Catelló, Spain.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gironé
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari General de Castelló, Catelló, Spain.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mateo
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari General de Castelló, Catelló, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari General de Castelló, Catelló, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Usó
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari General de Castelló, Catelló, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mínguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari General de Castelló, Catelló, Spain.
authors.forename: Bernardino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, Alicante, Spain; Department of Clinical Medicine, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Alicante, Spain. Electronic address: jramosrincon@yahoo.es.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014195:Travel
keywords: Echinococcosis; Human immunodeficiency virus; Malaria; Parasitic disease; Visceral leishmaniasis