Jalakam Venkata Siva Priya, Lotheti Sivakumar, Bhimarasetty Devi Madhavi
Community Medicine, Panimalar Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, IND.
Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Vizianagaram, Vizianagaram, IND.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 1;17(6):e85207. doi: 10.7759/cureus.85207. eCollection 2025 Jun.
This study evaluated disabilities among newly diagnosed leprosy cases in Visakhapatnam District, India, following the 2019 Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC). We aimed to quantify disability prevalence, classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) grades (0, 1, and 2), and identify associated sociodemographic and clinical factors.
A cross-sectional analytical study included 68 out of 299 newly reported cases of leprosy selected via simple random sampling. Data were collected through clinical examinations, nerve assessments, and patient interviews after informed consent. Disability was graded per WHO criteria.
Participants (mean age: 36.7 ± 18.0 years) included 62% males and 81% aged 15-60 years; 39% were middle-class. Multibacillary leprosy predominated (63%), with 10% of child cases (<15 years), indicating active transmission. Disabilities were observed in 14% of the leprosy cases: 6% grade 1 and 9% grade 2 (exceeding India's 7.7% grade 2 average). Hands were most commonly affected (9%), with ulnar nerve involvement in 62% of the patients. Median healthcare-seeking delay was eight months, correlating with the proportion of grade 2 disabilities (G2D) observed. Stigma was a noted barrier, with patients reporting concealment of symptoms.
Despite LCDC, high G2D rates persist, driven by delayed diagnosis and stigma. Recommendations include enhanced information education and communication, active case detection, and post-multidrug therapy follow-up. These findings support India's National Leprosy Eradication Program and global efforts to reduce leprosy-related disabilities.
本研究评估了印度维沙卡帕特南地区在2019年麻风病病例检测运动（LCDC）之后新诊断的麻风病病例中的残疾情况。我们旨在量化按世界卫生组织（WHO）分级（0、1和2级）分类的残疾患病率，并确定相关的社会人口统计学和临床因素。
一项横断面分析研究纳入了通过简单随机抽样从299例新报告的麻风病病例中选取的68例。在获得知情同意后，通过临床检查、神经评估和患者访谈收集数据。根据WHO标准对残疾进行分级。
参与者（平均年龄：36.7±18.0岁）中男性占62%，15 - 60岁的占81%；39%为中产阶级。多菌型麻风病占主导（63%），10%为儿童病例（<15岁），表明存在活跃传播。在14%的麻风病病例中观察到残疾：6%为1级，9%为2级（超过印度2级平均水平的7.7%）。手部最常受累（9%），62%的患者尺神经受累。寻求医疗的中位延迟时间为8个月，与观察到的2级残疾比例（G2D）相关。耻辱感是一个明显的障碍，患者报告存在症状隐瞒情况。
尽管有LCDC，但由于诊断延迟和耻辱感，2级残疾率仍然很高。建议包括加强信息教育与沟通、主动病例发现以及多药治疗后的随访。这些发现支持了印度的国家麻风病根除计划以及全球减少与麻风病相关残疾的努力。
