New Enemy of Refugees: Tuberculosis

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major concern to public health in Turkey. The disease can cause respiratory failure and is monitored in intensive care units (ICU) for various clinical symptoms, such as meningitis. The purpose of this study was to present the results of a 1-year TB follow-up. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study evaluated the data of patients who were hospitalised at the Anaesthesia and Reanimation Clinic of University of Health Sciences Turkey, Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018. Following the approval by the Ethics Committee, prognostic scores, reasons for hospitalisation, presence of additional diseases, types of discharge, presence of hospital infections, duration of mechanical ventilation, diagnosis and culture results were recorded. Results: Data was obtained from 22 patients with TB. Further, reasons for admission were respiratory failure in 12 patients (54.5%), septic shock in 6 (27.3%), and meningitis in 4 (18.2%). Of these 22 patients, 16 (72.7%) died and 6 (27.3%) were discharged with recovery, and 40% of all patients were immigrants. The duration of invasive mechanical ventilation in the survivor group was statistically significantly longer (p=0.024). Conclusion: TB is still a severe disease in our country, and it is projected that the number of cases will increase due to increased migration rates in recent years. During the course of the disease, intensive care follow-up may be required due to respiratory distress. Furthermore, immigration and changing public health can lead to structural changes in ICU.