Relapse rates among nonlepromatous patients released from control.

A total of 1701 nonlepromatous patients treated with dapsone monotherapy for at least 4 1/2 years and released from control were followed up and examined for evidence of relapse. They contributed a total of 5254 person years of risk, and there were 51 relapses (3%), giving an overall relapse rate of 9.7/1000 person years of risk. This paper examines the effect of various factors on the risk of relapses, such as age, sex, and classification of the disease; duration and regularity of treatment; percentage of attendance; deformity grade; number of patches and lepromin status. Some of the factors studied, such as age, sex, classification, percentage of attendance, and the number of patches in association with the lepromin status, were found to significantly influence the risk of relapse in these patients. Therapy in nonlepromatous leprosy is discussed in light of these findings.