Clinical trial with rifampicin in the treatment of leprosy (final report)

A controlled trial of Rifampicin plus Dapsone had been in progress for two years in the Department of Leprology, School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta. Interim results of this trial after six months treatment were reported in 1976. The present paper is the final report of the study after two years of treatment. The study reveals that with Rifampicin, MI falls rapidly after six months, but changes in BI are not better than in the DDS group. As a matter of fact, regarding BI, treatment with DDS has given better results as two cases have become negative in the DDS group while no case has become negative in the Rifampicin group. It is, therefore, concluded that clinical improvement with Rifampicin is similar to that with DDS.