In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the studies carried out in tuberculosis units and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis control in Mersin in 2018-2021 years. In this way, deficiencies in tuberculosis units during the pandemic will be determined and solution proposals will be presented. This descriptive study was conducted in Mersin between December 2021 and May 2022. The records of Mersin Provincial Health Directorate tuberculosis units for the years 2018-2019-2020-2021 were included in the study. In the study, the examination, contact examination, organized community scans, BCG vaccinations, tuberculin skin tests, bacteriological and radiological examinations, treated patients and preventive treatment practices in tuberculosis units in Mersin were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were used in summarizing the data. 14029 examinations were performed in 2018, 12097 in 2019, 7601 in 2020 and 7849 in 2021 in the tuberculosis units in Mersin province. The number of radiological examinations in tuberculosis units in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 are; 8148, 7951, 2885, 3278, respectively. The number of bacteriological examinations performed are 2701, 2107, 921, 709. According to the years, the number of people who received treatment was determined as 214, 189, 165, 174. In the years before and after the pandemic, when 2019 and 2020 were compared, 37.2% decrease in the total number of examinations and a 12.7% decrease in the number of patients treated were determined in Mersin. In the years after the onset of the pandemic, there was a decrease in all services in tuberculosis units compared to the years before the pandemic.
Key words: COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare, tuberculosis
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