01972nas a2200397   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653000900065653002800074653002500102653001400127653002600141653002800167653002200195653002900217653001100246653001100257653001200268653000900280653001700289653001600306653002600322653002200348653001700370653002300387100001200410700001300422245007000435856007300505300001200578490000700590050001500597520094800612022001401560       2013                            d  c2013 Oct10aAdult10aAged10aAntibodies, Antinuclear10aAntirheumatic Agents10aArthritis10aArthritis, Rheumatoid10aDiagnosis, Differential10aDiagnostic Errors10aFalse Positive Reactions10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMethotrexate10aMiddle Aged10aRetrospective Studies10aRheumatoid Factor10aRheumatology10aSymptom Assessment1 aSalvi S1 aArvind C00aLeprosy in a rheumatology setting: a challenging mimic to expose.  uhttp://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10067-013-2276-5.pdf  a1557-630 v32  aSALVI 20133 a<p>Leprosy can manifest arthritis both as a complication and a comorbid disorder and can be a challenging differential diagnosis in rheumatology practice due to several common features. Uncommonly, it may present as acute severe polyarthritis with skin lesions and neurological deficit or a digital vasculitis and gangrene. We demonstrate this profile in a retrospective case series analysis of 33 patients (13 females, median age 55 years) in a community-based clinic setting over the period 1998-2012; an electronic search of case records of 41,000 patients was carried out. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) coexisted in seven patients (three lepromatous, two tuberculoid, and two polyneuritic). Serological rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibody were often false positive. Several patients of RA were on long-term supervised methotrexate. Rheumatologists should be aware of this clinical mimic to avoid errors in diagnosis and management. </p>  a1434-9949