Ophthalmic findings of newly diagnosed leprosy patients in Istanbul Leprosy Hospital, Turkey.

The objective of this study was to detect ocular lesions of newly diagnosed leprosy cases admitted to Istanbul Leprosy Hospital. The patients were categorized according to sex, age, type of leprosy and duration of the disease. Their eyes were categorized as with or without ocular findings due to leprosy. The total number of patients was 21. The mean age was 22+/-4.6 years, the duration of the disease was 36.3+/-19.6 months. Madarosis was the most common finding in this group. It was found in 15 patients (71.4%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 47.8-88.7%). As a second common finding related to corneal alterations, 13 patients had nerve thickening (61.9%, 95% CI 38.4-81.8%). None of our patients had trichiasis, episcleritis, scleritis, cataract, iris atrophy, iris pearl, abnormal vitreous or retinal findings.