Evaluation of bacteraemia in leprosy patients

Thirty five patients of leprosy have been screened for bacteraemia by haemolysis (HL), leucocyte adherence (LA) and buffy coat (BC) methods and the results have been compared. The HL method has yielded not only higher number of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) but also has detected more frequently AFB in blood of leprosy patients as compared to other methods. Further, it has been established that the skin over the cubital fossa does not play any significant role in contaminating blood samples while sampling blood by venepuncture.