A 10-year Retrospective Descriptive Study on Pure Neuritic Leprosy from a Tertiary Referral Centre.

CONTEXT

Pure neuritic leprosy is a risk factor for grade 2 disability owing to the early nerve damage.

AIMS

To study the clinical patterns of neuritic leprosy, to determine the percentage of patients manifesting grade 2 disability at the time of diagnosis and to identify any risk factors for the same.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

Retrospective descriptive study from previous case records of pure neuritic leprosy patients who attended a tertiary centre from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2017.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Data on patients who satisfied the World Health Organization (WHO) cardinal criteria for diagnosis of leprosy, who had no skin lesion of leprosy and had acid-fast bacilli negative status on skin smears were collected using a pre-set proforma.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

The Chi-square test was used to assess statistical significance and logistic regression model was applied to avoid the effects of confounding factors.

RESULTS

A diagnostic delay of >1 year was observed in 44% patients. At the time of diagnosis, grade 2 disability was documented in 60 (80%) of patients. No statistically significant risk factor was identified for grade 2 disability.

LIMITATIONS

Retrospective nature and the study conducted in a tertiary care centre not reflecting the status in the community were the limitations.

CONCLUSIONS

Grade 2 disability noted in 80% of patients points to the inherent nature of disease to cause early nerve damage. Diagnostic delay of >1 year documented in 44% of patients underscores the diagnostic challenges in the absence of skin lesions.