Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and migration on tuberculosis notifications: a retrospective analysis with 5-year data from three centers.

Purpose: We aimed to determine the incidence of TB among immigrants and non-immigrants in Sanliurfa, Türkiye between 2018 and 2022 and to examine the effect of COVID-19 on the incidence, location, and drug resistance patterns of tuberculosis.

Methods: This study was a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with tuberculosis in Şanlıurfa Tuberculosis Dispensary between January-2018 and May-2022. Patients were assessed in terms of age, sex, site of tuberculosis, and drug resistance profiles before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: A total of 887 patients with TB were included in the study. The mean age of patients diagnosed with tuberculosis was 40.63 ± 17.50 years. Of the total number of patients diagnosed, 50.7% were women, 85.8% were Turkish citizens, and 91.9% were new cases. Comparing the rate of positive cultures between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods revealed a statistically significant rate of positive culture during the COVID-19 period (p < 0.001). In terms of mortality, the mean age of the patients who died was 60.2 ± 18.4 years and that of the survivors was 39.1 ± 16.6 years; these values were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Among the patients who survived, the rate of pulmonary tuberculosis was statistically significantly higher than that of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The prevalence of pulmonary TB is high and the proportion of women is increasing. During the COVID-19 period, the number of patients diagnosed with TB decreased, but interestingly, the rate of positive cultures remained high, and the rate of resistance to INH also decreased. The results revealed rates similar to those reported by the World Health Organization.