A 10-year retrospective descriptive study on pure neuritic leprosy from a tertiary referral centre

CONTEXT: Pure neuritic leprosy is a risk factor for grade 2 disability owing to the early nerve damage. AIMS: To study the clinical patterns of neuritic leprosy, to determine the percentage of patients manifesting grade 2 disability at the time of diagnosis and to identify any risk factors for the same. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: June 2017. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data on patients who satisfied the World Health Organization (WHO) cardinal criteria for diagnosis of leprosy, who had no skin lesion of leprosy and had acid-fast bacilli negative status on skin smears were collected using a pre-set proforma. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The Chi-square test was used to assess statistical significance and logistic regression model was applied to avoid the effects of confounding factors. RESULTS: A diagnostic delay of >1 year was observed in 44% patients. At the time of diagnosis, grade 2 disability was documented in 60 (80%) of patients. No statistically significant risk factor was identified for grade 2 disability. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective nature and the study conducted in a tertiary care centre not reflecting the status in the community were the limitations. CONCLUSIONS: Grade 2 disability noted in 80% of patients points to the inherent nature of disease to cause early nerve damage. Diagnostic delay of >1 year documented in 44% of patients underscores the diagnostic challenges in the absence of skin lesions.