Shift In The Rate Of Epidemiological Characteristics But Not In The Rate Of Active Tuberculosis Infection Of Refugees And Immigrants Visiting A Greek Chest Hospital

Background: Although immigration flows continue in Greece, there has been a gradual change in the country of origin of the refugees/immigrants that arrived in the country, in the last years. Aims: To compare the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the refugees/immigrants who were examined for potential active or latent tuberculosis (TB) infection in a major chest Greek hospital, during 2 time periods. Methods: All refugees/immigrants who were examined between 2016-2017 (1st period) and 2018-2019 (2nd period) constituted the study population. Most participants had a prior screening at primary care settings and found to be of risk for TB infection. Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded and group comparisons were conducted, as appropriate. Results: 116 (82,8% males) in the 1st period and 147 (85% males) patients in the 2nd period were examined. During the 2nd period, immigrants were older (27.6±11.8 years vs. 22.9±10.7 years; p=0.001) and they came more frequently from African (34.9% vs. 17.4%) and Asian (34.2% vs. 27.8%) countries and less frequently from Syria (19.9% vs. 38.3%; p=0.001), compared to the 1st period. TST was positive in higher rates (81% vs 54.5%; p<0.001) and BCG vaccination was less frequent (11.6% vs. 59.1%; p<0.001), among patients of the 2nd period. However, the proportion of abnormal X-ray findings (16.4% vs. 16.2%) and the number of patients with active TB who needed therapy were similar between the groups (11.6% vs. 12.5%). Conclusions: Although several epidemiological characteristics of immigrants/refugees changed, the percentage of active TB infection remained the same.