Cytodiagnosis of histoid leprosy

This paper presents cytomorphological features of the histoid variety of lepromatous leprosy. Fine needle aspiration of a lepromatous nodule showed cytological features consistent with those of histoid leprosy. Simultaneously, a biopsy of the nodule was also performed and the case confirmed as histoid leprosy. The advantages of the fine needle aspiration technique are that it is simple, quickly reportable, and less traumatizing. Multiple aspirations from different sites may be obtained, which would add to the value of sampling. The need to differentiate a histoid nodule from a conventional lepromatous nodule is explained.     

Penile tuberculoid leprosy in a five year old boy

A 5-year-old contact of a lepromatous leprosy patient with a tuberculoid lesion on the anterior aspect of the shaft of the penis is reported. The child was clinically suspected to have borderline tuberculoid leprosy during a survey of contacts of leprosy patients, which on histopathology revealed features of subpolar tuberculoid leprosy. The father of the child was recently detected as a case of lepromatous leprosy and was started on multibacillary regime of WHO multidrug therapy. The reason for the localization of the lesion to the shaft of the penis is also suggested. Skin as a route of transmission of tuberculoid leprosy is also emphasized.     

Leprosy with pellagroid features (a case report)

A case of leprosy with pellagroid features is presented. Diagnosis of leprosy was confirmed by bacteriological and histopathological examination. A therapeutic trial with nicotinic acid did not result in any improvement. Occurrence of scaling in leprosy is discussed.     

Lepromatous leprosy complicated with systemic lupus erythematosus

This paper presents a case of lepromatous leprosy complicated with systemic lupus erythematosus and diagnosed as having typical systemic lupus erythematosus from clinical features and results of laboratory tests. We discuss the appearance of autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus as well as in leprosy.     

Primary neuritic leprosy in a black South African.

A case of primary neuritic leprosy in a black South African is described, in which the multiple peripheral nerves were affected. The clinical picture and electrophysiological studies are in keeping with a picture of mononeuritis multiplex. Selective involvement of the facial nerve branches with normal blink reflex latencies was observed. The biopsy of the sural nerve disclosed features most consistent with borderline leprosy.     

Non-pruritic eczemas as presenting manifestation of leprosy

Three patients who presented with eczemas as manifestation of leprosy are described. One of them having lepromatous leprosy had extensive areas of acquired ichthyosis. He developed asteatotic eczema on the legs. The pathophysiologic mechanisms for the development of ichthyosis and asteatotic eczema in this patient are briefly discussed. The second patient, with tuberculoid leprosy, presented with allergic contact eczema due to neomycin which he had applied over the plaque for scaling and crusting. The third patient, also with tuberculoid leprosy, presented with features of nummular eczema. Dryness of the skin that resulted from leprosy had led to the development of nummular eczema in this case. One peculiarity noted in all these eczemas was that they were non-pruritic.     

De Novo Histoid Leprosy

Histoid leprosy is an uncommon entity with specific clinical, histopathological and bacteriological features. Histoid lepromas are sudden eruption of dome shaped lesions usually associated with dapsone resistance, as a variant of lepromatous leprosy or rarely arising de novo. We report a case who presented for the first time with histoid features with no history of taking dapsone/antileprosy treatment earlier in an elderly male with small to large lesions over normal skin in the post-leprosy elimination era.     

Postinfektiöses Lucio-Phänomen bei diffuser Lepra Bericht über zwei Fälle

In the clinical classification of leprosy the diffuse nonnodular form belongs to the lepromatous subtype. In these patients only a diffuse cutaneous infiltration without nodules or plaques is seen. Although the cutaneous features can be difficult to identify, the reactional state in these cases may lead to a serious necrotizing vasculitis, known as Lucio's phenomenon. We describe two cases of Lucio's phenomenon triggered by erysipelas. The diagnosis of leprosy was established only after the immunologic reaction had occurred. Both patients were treated with steroids and thalidomide. In the second case, the bacterial infection led to sepsis and death. In at-risk patients with a necrotizing vasculitis, leprosy should be considered in the differential diagnosis.     

Increase in the incidence of dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome--an appraisal

There has been an increase in the reports of dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS) in the past few years, coinciding with the introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT) for leprosy world-wide. The exact cause of this phenomenon is not clear. We report four cases of DHS observed among 252 leprosy patients on MDT and one case of DHS in a patient taking dapsone for nodulocystic acne in the Dermatology Department of the Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad, India, between June 1997 and January 1999 with few unusual features. In two of these five patients maculopapular rash was severe and progressed to erythroderma. Introduction of MDT in 1982 has not only decreased the prevalence of leprosy but also brought about a positive change in the attitude of people which increased the voluntary reporting of leprosy patients. This, coupled with improvements in organization of leprosy control and awareness among medical personnel of DHS, are probably the most important reasons for the increased reporting of DHS in recent years.     

Analysis on the detection of new leprosy cases before, during and after the year of leprosy elimination campaigns

To analyse the impact on of case finding of leprosy elimination campaigns (LECs), data on newly detected leprosy cases in a leprosy endemic area were collected before, during and after the year of LEC. The number of new leprosy cases detected during the year of LEC was significantly higher than previously. The number of newly detected cases after the year of LEC was similar to that of detected before the year of LEC in counties with persisting case finding activities. However, the number of newly detected cases after the year of LEC significantly decreased in counties without active case finding activities. The average distance from the homes of leprosy cases detected during LEC to the leprosy control unit at the count town was 62.8 km, which is farther than that of other leprosy cases detected before and after the year of LEC. The average time from disease onset to diagnosis of leprosy cases detected after the year of LEC shortened. The results also showed that carrying out LECs is unlikely to have a significant impact on the trend of case finding within a short time in local areas, but it may improve some indicators of leprosy patients and so promote leprosy control in local areas.     

广东省1991年～2000年麻风病例发现情况分析

目的:了解广东省近10年麻风病例发现情况,评价目前防治策略,并为今后制订防治策略提供参考。方法:利用全省的麻风疫情报表,进行回顾性分析,部分数据进行统计学处理。结果:1991年～2000年广东省麻风病年发现率及患病率均呈下降趋势,而发现率的年平均下降幅度明显小于患病率的下降;1991年～1995年麻风病年发病率与发现率比较无显著性差异(t=2.775,P>0.05),但后5年(1996年～2000年)两者比较则有显著性差异(t=6.668,P<0.01);病例的早期发现平均为74.02％,各年变化不大;在病例的发现途径方面,被动发现(门诊,线索)占94.17％,各年比例变化不大。结论:在麻风疫苗实际应用之前,病例发现仍然是控制麻风病的主要手段,今后病例发现仍然是以皮肤专科门诊为主。1991年～2000年的发现率年下降幅度小于患病率,说明要彻底消除麻风病,仍要一定的时间。必须通过加强皮肤专科及相关科医生对麻风病的诊断水平,大众的健康教育宣传等措施,提高麻风的早发现、早治疗来进一步控制及消除麻风。     

A delayed diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy: pitfalls and clues to early recognition

Purpose To remind special attention to atypical symptoms of Hansen’s disease, we report a case of an atypical case due to a delayed diagnosis. Background Clinical features of leprosy are well known, cutaneous lesions and involvement of the peripheral nerves being the cardinal clinical signs. Among these presentations, systemic involvement, including mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract and eyes, is rarely reported even if it is still commonly seen in endemic areas, in particular lepromatous leprosy. Case report We describe here a new case of Hansen’s disease in a 51‐year‐old Tunisian woman with an atypical presentation and a delayed diagnosis. The early symptoms of the disease were different from the main clinical signs of Hansen’s disease since they involved the upper respiratory tract and the eyes. A nasal smear was positive for acid‐fast bacilli, thus confirming the diagnosis of bacilliferous leprosy. Histological findings suggested the diagnosis of leprosy and were somewhat more characteristic of the borderline lepromatous type. Conclusion Diagnosis of Hansen’s disease in patients with neither apparent skin lesions nor neurological signs is still problematic. Clinicians should not only pay attention to the more obvious signs in their own fields of expertise but should be aware of the possible systemic involvement of leprosy.     

2010-2020年广西麻风复发病例分析

目的:分析2010-2020年广西麻风复发病例基本情况.方法:描述性分析2010-2020年广西全区在全国麻风病防治管理信息系统中上报的麻风复发病例资料.结果:2010-2020年,广西发现麻风复发病例43例,排除首次诊疗病例资料不全的病例1例,纳入42例病例进行分析.其中男31例(73.8％),女11例(26.2％)...     

Sub-polar lepromatous leprosy presenting as urticarial wheals: a case report

A 40-year male lepromatous leprosy patient presented with four, slightly erythematous patches, with multiple urticaria-like wheals, distributed over the body symmetrically and with thickened right ulnar and right common peroneal nerves. He was previously diagnosed as a case of chronic idiopathic urticaria. Slit skin smear from the patches and urticarial wheals showed a BI of 3+ and skin biopsy showed some features of borderline lepromatous leprosy (BL).     

重复开展消除麻风运动地区的病例发现和患者临床情况分析

目的：观察湖南省西部2个麻风高流行县重复开展消除麻风运动对当地麻风患者发现及临床指标的影响。方法：收集自1997—2002年麻风新发病例，其中包括开展消除麻风运动年份的病例资料，对各年发现病人数，平均确诊年龄，畸残率，延迟期等进行比较分析。结果：从1997年至2002年共发现133例患者。平均每年发现22．2例，年发现率2．4/10万。1998年开展LEC时发现的新病人数是接近开展IEC前一年的2倍，以后新发现病人数减少到一个稳定的低水平，在2002年重复开展LEC时，发现数又是接近前一年的2倍。但与1998年首次开展LEC时发现数相比，减少了50％。新发病人的疾病延迟期平均为34．8月，疾病延迟期在开展LEC前后未显示有缩短或延长的趋势。133例患者中，35例有可见畸残(26．3％)。但新发现病人中2级畸残率从1998年的32．0％下降到2002年重复实施LEC时的12％。结论：作者认为重复实施消除麻风运动促进了当地某些流行病学指标的好转。     

开展消除麻风运动后对当地新发现病人状况的影响

目的：分析开展消除麻风运动后对当地新发现麻风病人状况的影响。方法：通过比较麻风高流行县（市）开展消除麻风运动前、中和后一年的麻风新发现病人资料，分析新发现麻风病人各个方面情况。结果：发现所有8个县（市）在开展消除麻风运动当年发现病人数均为最高。在开展消除麻风运动后一年，防治力量强的县（市）发现病人数维持在开展消除麻风运动前一年的水平，防治力量弱的县（市）发现病人数则比开展运动前一年有减少。在开展消除运动期间发现的病人居住地离县麻风专业机构的距离最远，平均为62．8公里／人。开展消除运动期间疾病延迟期为最长，平均为42．9月，消除运动后一年发现的病人疾病平均延迟期缩短至26．5月。结论：开展消除麻风运动后在短期内不会对当地的新发现病人数产生很大的影响，但其促进了部分麻风流行病学指标好转，从而促进了当地麻风防治。     

The role of the armadillo and sooty mangabey monkey in human leprosy

Background  The armadillo was the first animal model of leprosy. Its role in the transmission of leprosy remains controversial. The sooty mangabey model of leprosy led to the discovery that rhesus monkeys were more susceptible to leprosy when coinfected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), but that leprosy may play a protective role against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) mortality. Recently, molecular methods have been developed for leprosy and may help resolve the role of zoonoses in leprosy.
Observations  The recent identification of a case of leprosy in a native-born American on the east coast of the USA and the identification of leprosy as an immunologic reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive cases raise the question of what role zoonoses may play in leprosy.
Conclusions  Leprosy in armadillos and sooty mangabeys has been manipulated by human experimentation. In the case of the armadillo, further study, including molecular techniques, is required to elucidate the role of the armadillo as a zoonosis in human leprosy. Experimentation with the sooty mangabey led to the discovery of an interaction between SIV and leprosy in rhesus monkeys, and prompted the continued investigation of the relationship between HIV and leprosy.     

Tetanus in patient with lepromatous leprosy (I)

Tetanus in lepromatous leprosy is rare and reported occasionally as case reports only. We present a case of lepromatous leprosy who succumbed to death due to rapidly progressing tetanus. The mechanism of protection from tetanus in leprosy is discussed.     

重复开展消除麻风运动对当地新发现病人情况的影响

目的:观察贵州省兴义市重复开展消除麻风运动对当地新发现麻风病人的影响.方法:收集1996～2004年新发现麻风病人的有关资料进行比较分析.结果:9年共发现麻风病人166例,平均每年发现18.4例,年均发现率为2.65/10万.1999年首次开展消除麻风运动后3年,新病人中的2级畸残率和延迟期呈明显下降趋势,低于开展前3年的水平.两次开展消除麻风运动时的畸残率和平均延迟期均达较高水平,提示该地区虽两次开展消除麻风运动但麻风流行程度仍处于较高水平.结论:重复实施消除麻风运动可促进某些流行病学指标的好转,应反复多次开展.     

Primary drug resistance to both rifampicin and dapsone in a paucibacillary leprosy patient

A thirty-one year old male patient was diagnosed and treated for a pure or better primary neuritic case of leprosy with dapsone (100 mg daily for 2 years) and rifampicin (600 mg daily for 6 months). From the very outset, the patient did not show any improvement; on the top of it, he subsequently, developed a cutaneous patch, which on histopathological examination, revealed classical features of BT leprosy. Acid-fast bacilli were absent both in skin slit smear and histologic section. A primary resistance to both dapsone and rifampicin, even in paucibacillary patient, is speculated.