Histoid Leprosy: apropos a Case

Abstract

Leprosy is a chronic infectious-contagious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae and affecting mainly the skin and peripheral nerves. It can affect other organs, and, sometimes, it is systemic. Within the clinical spectrum of multibacillary leprosy we can find Wade's histoid leprosy, which can manifest itself as an initial form of presentation or as a relapse of the pathology, with its own clinical, histopathological, bacteriological and immunological characteristics. The case is presented of a 39-year-old female patient, without previous medical conditions, who came to the clinic because, for three years, she had presented multiple papular and nodular erythematous-violaceous lesions located on the extremities and accompanied by sensitivity disorders. In addition, she had epistaxis at times. She received underwent complementary tests, which led to the diagnosis of histoid leprosy. Treatment was started as in multibacillary infection, with a favorable evolution. The importance of this case lies in the fact that it is a rare variant, which must be known in order to diagnose it timely and thus avoid disabilities in patients.