title: [Clinical presentation of tuberculosis among immigrants seen at the antituberculosis outpatient clinic in Lausanne].
abstract: Between 1987 and 1990, 162 new immigrants entering Switzerland were treated for tuberculosis at the TB Dispensary, Lausanne. Fifty-three were smear or culture positive. In 93% of the cases, the diagnosis was suspected at a screening examination for TB shortly after arrival in Switzerland. The diagnosis of TB was established on the basis of radiological abnormalities and the results of bacteriology and the clinical and/or radiological course under treatment. The prevalence of TB was 174.3 cases per 100,000 among foreign workers and 1357.5 per 100,000 among refugees in the group of immigrants entering the Canton of Vaud. Symptoms related to TB were mentioned by 18% of patients, clinical abnormalities were noted in 7.4%. The tuberculin test was positive (greater than 10 mm) in 94% of patients. Thirty patients, including six smear or culture positive cases, were lost to follow-up or stopped treatment before the scheduled end. A policy of active screening for TB among new immigrants allows detection at an early stage and, in combination with proper treatment, should prevent extension of the disease within groups of immigrants.
authors.affiliation: Dispensaire antituberculeux, Policlinique médicale universitaire, Lausanne.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ravessoud
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zellweger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012036:Refugees; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014374:Tuberculin Test; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
vernacular_title: Présentation clinique de la tuberculose chez les immigrants vus au Dispensaire antituberculeux de Lausanne.