A study of pure neuritic leprosy: clinical experience

Pure neuritic leprosy is a well-recognized clinical entity. Manifestations of leprosy in pure neuritic form accounted for 179 patients out of the total 3853 leprosy patients (4.6%) attending our Poona Urban Leprosy Investigation Centre clinics. Patients with pure neuritic leprosy are prone to develop nerve damage. Eight-seven (48.6%) of our pure neuritic patients presented with deformities. Involvement of upper extremity and right ulnar nerve in particular was the most common clinical feature. Patients presenting with involvement of two nerves of the same extremity was also quite common. None of our patients developed skin lesions while on anti-leprosy treatment. It is important to recognize neuritic symptoms early and suspect leprosy even in the absence of skin lesions.