01551nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001653003000042653002700072653001400099653001100113100001600124700001200140700001900152700001300171700001800184700001400202700001200216700001500228700001300243245007900256856008000335300000600415490000600421520083200427022001401259       2014                            d10apolymerase chain reaction10aPaucibacillary leprosy10adiagnosis10aBrazil1 aBarbieri RR1 aSales A1 aIllarramendi X1 aMoraes M1 aCosta Nery JA1 aMoreira S1 aSarno E1 aMachado AM1 aBozza FA00aDiagnostic challenges of single plaque-like lesion paucibacillary leprosy.  uhttp://www.scielo.br/pdf/mioc/2014nahead/0074-0276-mioc-0074-0276140212.pdf  a00 v03 a<p>The diagnosis of single-lesion paucibacillary leprosy remains a challenge. Reviews by expert dermatopathologists and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results obtained from 66 single-plaque biopsy samples were compared. Histological findings were graded as high (HP), medium (MP) or low (LP) probability of leprosy or other dermatopathy (OD). Mycobacterium leprae-specific genes were detected using qPCR. The biopsies of 47 out of 57 clinically diagnosed patients who received multidrug therapy were classified as HP/MP, eight of which were qPCR negative. In the LP/OD (n = 19), two out of eight untreated patients showed positive qPCR results. In the absence of typical histopathological features, qPCR may be utilised to aid in final patient diagnosis, thus reducing overtreatment and delay in diagnosis.</p>
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