02274nas a2200409   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653001000058653000900068653003300077653003000110653003100140653001800171653001100189653001100200653002300211653001200234653002400246653002500270653002500295653000900320653001600329653001600345653002600361100001100387700002000398700001300418700001200431700001400443245005800457856006800515300001100583490000800594050001400602520123400616022001401850       1994                            d  c1994 Sep 2410aAdult10aAged10aDrug Administration Schedule10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aEmigration and Immigration10aEthnic Groups10aFemale10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aLeprosy, Borderline10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aLeprosy, Tuberculoid10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aNetherlands10aRetrospective Studies1 aPost E1 aChin-a-Lien R A1 aBouman C1 aNaafs B1 aFaber W R00a[Leprosy in The Netherlands in the period 1970-1991].  uhttp://www.ntvg.nl/system/files/publications/1994119600001a.pdf  a1960-30 v138  aPOST 19943 a<p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>To inventory the changes in leprosy epidemiology in the Netherlands.</p><p><b>DESIGN: </b>Retrospective.</p><p><b>SETTING: </b>Academic Medical Centre (Amsterdam) and University Hospital Dijkzigt (Rotterdam), the Netherlands.</p><p><b>METHOD: </b>The medical records of all new leprosy patients in the period 1970-1991 were analysed.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Between 1970 and 1991, 622 new leprosy patients were registered; 371 men (59.6%) and 251 women (40.4%). Most patients came from Surinam (73.3%) and Indonesia (7.2%). The mean time lapse between onset and treatment in the Netherlands was 10.1 years. Switching from monotherapy to combination therapy (1979) had no effect on the incidence of reversal reactions (cellular hypersensitivity in immunologically unstable patients), but did affect the incidence of erythema nodosum leprosum during the treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>Leprosy in the Netherlands is an important disease, mainly from Surinam. The main advantage of combination therapy is the shortened duration of treatment. The treatment of choice is the one recommended by the WHO, the combination therapy with rifampicin administration once a month, because of the few adverse effects.</p>  a0028-2162