A Clinical Rule for Predicting Impaired Nerve Function in Leprosy Patients

Description

A simple clinical predictive rule can identify the risk of a leprosy patient developing nerve function impairment. Nerve function impairment may occur during or after chemotherapy for leprosy and may be disabling. The authors are from the Danish-Bangladesh Leprosy Mission, University of Aberdeen and Erasmus University.

Type of Leprosy	Nerve Function Loss at Registration	Risk of Nerve Function Impairment within 2 Years
paucibacillary	absent	1.3% (95% CI 0.8-1.8%)
paucibacillary	present	16% (95% CI 12-20%)
multibacillary	absent	16% (95% CI 12-20%)
multibacillary	present	65% (95% CI 56-73%

Risk Group	Duration of Active Follow-Up	Subsequent Instructions
low	6 months	return if signs of nerve dysfunction develop
intermediate	12 months	return if signs of nerve dysfunction develop
high	24 months	return if signs of nerve dysfunction develop

where:

• Active follow-up includes the performance of nerve function testing.

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A Clinical Rule for Predicting Impaired Nerve Function in Leprosy Patients

Description

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