European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background:The clinical manifestations of leprosy are so different and of wide range,
that they can mimic variety of unrelated diseases, so for correct and adequate
treatment, the diagnosis must be made early and it should be accurate. Various methods
of diagnosis, further improve the accuracy of diagnosis and also give idea about
immunological status. The aim is to diagnose and categorize Leprosy into various types,
based on histopathological examination and to correlate the findings withFite-Faraco
staining of the sections.
Materials and Methods: The data base of skin biopsies, suspicious of leprosy were
studied in Department of Pathology, Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada
retrospectively for a period of one year and total 62 cases diagnosed as leprosy on
histopathological examination ofpatients with clinically suspicious signs, ofall age
groups, were included in the study.
Results: A total of 62 cases diagnosed as leprosy on histopathological examination were
evaluated. 32 cases (51.61%) were between age group of 21-40 years.In this study
66.12% were males and 33.8% were females. Highest No of cases,30 werediagnosed
onhistopathological examinationas Borderline Tuberculoid type, amounting to 48.38%
of all cases. Strength of agreement, during correlation study was higher in Tuberculoid
(TT), Lepromatous (LL), and Histoid (HL) subtypes of leprosy, but was found lower in
Borderline Lepromatous (BL) group.
Conclusion: Histopathological examination and demonstration of acid-fast lepra bacilli
in sections is recommended in all cases suspicious of leprosy for a good diagnostic
accuracy, which would ultimately help in thecorrect diagnosis and treatment of the
patient, and give idea about the Immunological status of the patient.