Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40361753›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Surgery on the Road to the Land of Promise-Ιmpact of the Refugee Crisis on the Greek Healthcare System: Results from a Surgical Department of a Tertiary Hospital.

Christos Damaskos, Nikolaos Garmpis, Dimitrios Lamprinos, Gregory Kouraklis, Dionysios Prevezanos, Anna Garmpi, Miltiadis-Panagiotis Papandroudis, Iason Psilopatis, Dimitrios Papoutsas, Georgios Marinos and 2 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Christos DamaskosDepartment of Emergency Surgery, Laiko General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-5454-2564
Nikolaos GarmpisN.S. Christeas Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0001-9980-0056
Dimitrios LamprinosEmergency Care Department, Laiko General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-1512-9301
Gregory KouraklisMedical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0001-9324-4327
Dionysios PrevezanosSecond Department of Propedeutic Surgery, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-5393-8524
Anna Garmpi8th Department of Internal Medicine, Ygeia General Hospital, 15123 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-0258-5965
Miltiadis-Panagiotis PapandroudisMedical School, University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Iason PsilopatisDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Erlangen Hospital, 91012 Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8516-6242
Dimitrios PapoutsasDepartment of Surgery, Sotiria General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Georgios MarinosDepartment of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-2280-8361
Stavros KourlakisSecond Department of Propedeutic Surgery, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.ORCID 0009-0006-3134-0616
Eleni I EffraimidouFirst Surgical Department, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-0129-5835

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesThe surge in migration from the Middle East and North Africa due to conflicts has significantly impacted healthcare systems, particularly in Greece. This study investigates how the sharp increase in refugees and migrants after July 2015 has strained the surgical departments of the Greek National Health System (NHS).

methodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 229 patients treated at the emergency department of a public hospital in Athens, Greece. Data were compared between two periods: January 2012-July 2015 (pre-July 2015) and July 2015-December 2018 (post-July 2015), with July 2015 chosen as the cutoff due to a significant influx of immigrants during that time.

resultsPatients' demographic details, diagnoses, and surgical interventions were analyzed. Results indicated a significant rise in surgical cases, with 72.5% of patients requiring procedures, notably for appendicitis (23.6%), cholecystitis (10.9%), lower extremity thrombophlebitis (9.6%), perianal abscess (8.3%), and inguinal hernia (5.7%). Post-July 2015, there was a notable increase in perianal abscess (12.2%), inguinal hernia (8.4%), and cholelithiasis (6.1%). However, the average hospital stay of 3.9 days remained unchanged.

conclusionsThe findings reveal the profound economic and operational pressures on the NHS during the refugee crisis, highlighting the urgent need for resource optimization and policy reforms. Future studies should address long-term healthcare impacts to support more sustainable healthcare models amidst ongoing and future migration challenges.

Indexed as

financial implicationGreecenational healthcare systemNHSrefugee crisissurgery

Identifiers

PMID40361753
PMCPMC12071806

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.