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[Delay in diagnosis as a prognostic factor for disability in patients with leprosy in Paraguay. Case and control
María Margarita Aguilera1, Lourdes Raquel Samaniego2, Margarita Samudio3
1Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay.
Background:
Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease, is one of the major causes of preventable disability. Early treatment prevents neurological damage and disability.
Aim:
To identify prognostic factors of disability in individuals with multibacillary and paucibacillary leprosy who completed a drug treatment between 2011 and 2017 in Paraguay.
Methods:
A case-control study was carried out on 34 patients, of them 9 were cases and 25 controls. Cases were those patients with Grade 1, presented lack of sensation in lower or upper limbs, and those of Grade 2 lagophthalmos, rigidity, visible deformity ulcerations, passive claw, active claw. Controls had no disabilities.
Results:
Mean age of the patients was 53 ± 15.2 years, 55.9% were male, and 58.9% had primary education or no formal education. Multibacillary leprosy was found in 58.8% of patients; and 64.7% were diagnosed after consulting with two or more physicians. Diagnosis delay of more than one year was significantly (p = 0.047) greater in the cases than in the controls (77.8% vs 12%; OR: 7.44; 95% CI: 1.02-67.86).
Conclusion:
In this study, a diagnosis delay of more than one year is a prognostic factor for disability.
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