Pattern of illness and injury of an Antarctic scientific expedition: retrospective cohort study aboard Rv <i>Xue Long 2</i>

(November 2024-May 2025). Primary diagnoses and affected systems were categorised according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Among 206 personnel (mean age 37.9 ± 9.0 years; 89.8% male), 144 individuals (69.9%) yielded 586 consultation records. Among these individuals, 79.1% required ≤4 visits. Consultations peaked initially (129 encounters/month) after departure. No emergency medical evacuations occurred. Acute upper respiratory infection (12.7%), dermatitis (5.9%) and muscle strain (5.1%) were the predominant diagnoses. Systemically, respiratory (18.0%), digestive (16.6%) and dermatological diseases (15.2%) predominated. Motion sickness and trauma incidence remained modest. The polysystemic morbidity profile reflects the dual stressors of prolonged oceanic isolation and extreme polar environments. These findings mandate expedition-specific medical protocols, mandatory pre-deployment health screening and comprehensive cross-training for shipboard physicians to optimise remote polar healthcare delivery.