Tracing Ocular Conditions in 15,921 Interwar Refugees, Veria, Greece (1926-1940)

Spyros N. Michaleas, Theodoros N. Sergentanis, Irini P. Chatziralli, Theodora Psaltopoulou, Marianna Karamanou

Abstract


Objective. This historical epidemiological study aims to investigate ocular conditions in Greek refugees during the Interwar pe­riod (1926-1940) in the region of Imathia, Greece.

Materials and Methods. The archival material encompasses 15,921 patients who were admitted to the Refugee Hospital of Veria, Imathia, Greece. Descriptive statistics were estimated.

Results. Twenty-two cases of ocular conditions were identified. Ten patients had anterior segment conditions, such as keratitis, blepharoconjunctivi­tis, conjunctivitis, epithelioma, leukoma and an operated cataract. Another patient was diagnosed with ocular trachoma. Four patients presented sympathetic ophthalmia; two additional patients suffered from ophthalmia due to syphilis. One patient was diagnosed with ocular malaria. Four cases of ocular traumas were recorded, among which an ocular burn due to gunpowder, a motorcycle accident leading to a retro-ocular hematoma, and a kick in the eye resulting in ocular trauma were notable.

Conclu­sion. The disease spectrum in Greek refugees reflects the adverse conditions during the Interwar era.


Keywords


Trachoma; Keratitis; Malaria; Syphilis; Ophthalmology

Full Text:

PDF


DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5644/ama2006-124.319

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


2019 Department of Medical Sciences, Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. All rights reserved.
 
The full text of articles published in this journal can be used free of charge for personal and educational purposes while respecting authors and publishers’ copyrights. For commercial purposes no part of this journal may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.