[Medical problems in refugees from Sri Lanka (Tamil)]

Recently many refugees from Sri Lanka have arrived in Europe. The purpose of the present investigation was to analyze the subjective complaints and diagnoses in these refugees. One hundred refugees (97 males, 3 females, age 19 to 42 years) were investigated. The most common reasons for consulting a general internist were cough (23%), general pain in soft tissue and joints (21%), disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (19%) and ear or throat complaints (15%). In 43% of the patients no diagnosis could be established. 58 patients were investigated for parasites in stool: 57% of these patients had hookworms, 12% non-pathogenic protozoon, 9% Entamoeba histolytica cysts, and 2% Giardia lamblia. In 12% of the patients the diagnosis was tonsillitis or pharyngitis, in 7% bronchitis, pneumonia or asthma and in 5% arterial hypertension. Various other diagnoses were established in 48 patients. With the exception of the high frequency of intestinal parasites, complaints and diagnoses in these refugees were the same as in a comparable European population.