Morbidity During the Early Interwar Period (1923-27): A Historical-Epidemiological Study of 15,146 Cases Treated at the “Agios Dimitrios” Hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

Background and objective The period spanning 1923-1927 was a turbulent period in Greek history following the catastrophic defeat of the Greek army in September 1922, known as the “Asia Minor Catastrophe”. The massive settlement of refugees in Thessaloniki, Greece, entailed massive economic, public health, and social challenges. The present historical-epidemiological study aims to evaluate the diseases of individuals hospitalized at the “Agios Dimitrios” Hospital in Thessaloniki during the aforementioned period. Materials and methods This study involved 15,146 consecutive patients (January 1923-March 1927) treated at the hospital. Data were collected from the General Hospital of Thessaloniki "Agios Dimitrios” and were manually entered into a pre-coded database. Descriptive statistics were calculated. In addition, the case fatality rates (CFR) were calculated; the respective 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Results The most frequent causes for admission to the hospital were as follows: normal delivery/delivery without disclosed sequalae (n=1915, 12.7%), followed by tuberculosis (n=1514, 10.0%), malaria (n=1438, 9.5%), injuries/falls/fractures (n=1394, 9.2%), pneumonia/pleuritis (n=1010, 6.7%), appendicitis (n=623, 4.1%), dysentery/enterocolitis/typhoid (n=489, 3.2%), salpingitis/salpingo-oophoritis (n=358, 2.4%), soft tissue abscesses (n=309, 2.0%), hernias (n=295, 2.0%), rabies (n=239, 1.6%), metrorrhagia/menorrhagia (n=233, 1.5%), ocular cataract (n=225, 1.5%), postpartum infections/endometritis (n=181, 1.2%), uterine discomfort/uterine pain (n=162, 1.1%), nephritis/uremia (n=157, 1.0%), miscarriage (n=155, 1.0%), skin infections/inflammations excluding abscesses (n=152, 1.0%), otitis/mastoiditis/labyrinthitis (n=96, 0.6%), and peptic ulcer (n=93, 0.6%). Tuberculosis was particularly associated with high CFR (49.5%, 95% CI: 47.2-52.3%), followed by nephritis/uremia (CFR: 37.6%), dysentery/infectious enterocolitis/typhoid (CFR: 24.3%), peptic ulcer (CFR: 22.6%), pneumonia/pleuritis (CFR: 16.1%), postpartum infections/endometritis (CFR: 15.5%). Conclusions Infections predominated in the disease spectrum of the hospitalized population. The documented fatality rates were high; poor outcomes may reflect the socioeconomic adversities and limited medical means and resources available at that time.