Albert D A, Weisman M H, Kaplan R
Medicine (Baltimore). 1980 Nov;59(6):442-8. doi: 10.1097/00005792-198011000-00004.
Leprosy is a rare disorder in the United States, yet the rheumatic features of the disease appear to be common and frequently are the primary complaint. We observed rheumatic syndromes of erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) occurring with and without arthritis, a swollen hands syndrome, cutaneous vasculitis, or myositis in the majority (15 of 21) of our patients. These syndromes were distinctive, sometimes dramatic, and appeared to "mimic" idiopathic rheumatic diseases, substantially delaying an accurate diagnosis of leprosy in some patients. These complications were the major cause of morbidity in our 21 patients and became dominant clinical problems requiring additional chemotherapy.
麻风在美国是一种罕见疾病，然而该病的风湿性特征似乎很常见，且常常是主要症状。我们观察到，在我们的大多数（21例中的15例）患者中，麻风结节性红斑（ENL）的风湿综合征伴有或不伴有关节炎、手部肿胀综合征、皮肤血管炎或肌炎。这些综合征很独特，有时很严重，似乎“模仿”了特发性风湿性疾病，在一些患者中大大延迟了麻风的准确诊断。这些并发症是我们21例患者发病的主要原因，成为需要额外化疗的主要临床问题。
