Diagnosis and Disabilities in Patients with Leprosy

Abstract

Introduction: Leprosy is an ancient ailment. The causative agent is Mycobacterium leprae, discovered in 1873 by the Norwegian physician Hansen. Diagnosis, made within the first year of symptoms onset, is of the utmost importance for controlling the disease, because it cures and interrupts transmission, as well as it avoids disabilities. In Cuba, despite the implemented assistance and control programs, it continues to be a disease that causes disabilities, above all when the diagnosis is made after more than one year of evolution.

Objective: To establish the relationship between the time of diagnosis and the appearance of disabilities in patients with leprosy.

Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2021, in patients with a diagnosis of leprosy who attended the provincial clinic in Matanzas. The universe was constituted by 26 cases diagnosed in that period of time. The variables age, sex, leprosy classification according to the World Health Organization, time of diagnosis and presence of disabilities were collected.

Results: Female patients predominated (26.9 %). The predominant age group was 20 to 35 years old (46.1 %). 73 % percent were multibacillary cases and 26.3 % had a late diagnosis with presence of disability.

Conclusions: Early diagnosis of leprosy prevents the onset of disability in the course of the disease; therefore, it is important to perform a timely case definition.