Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shown the potential to affect the life of people all over the world either directly or indirectly.
To assess the impact of lockdown measures on treatment of leprosy among patients who received treatment from a tertiary referral centre.
A retrospective study was conducted at the dermatology department of a tertiary referral centre.
We did a retrospective analysis of case records of patients with leprosy who received treatment from our tertiary referral centre from 01 March 2020 to 31 May 2021.
During the 15-month period, 59 patients received multi-drug therapy (MDT) for leprosy from our centre. Thirty-two patients (54.2%) were already receiving MDT as on March 2020, and 27 others (45.8%) were diagnosed with leprosy and started on MDT during the period from March 2020 to May 2021. Two patients (3.4%) developed COVID-19 while on MDT. When lockdown measures were implemented, 12 patients (12/59, 20.3%) discontinued treatment, citing conveyance difficulties. Three patients (3/59, 5.1%) were lost to follow-up.
Small sample size and reliance on retrospective data from a single centre were the major limitations of the study.
A conscious effort is needed from healthcare professionals and the government to ensure that implementation of national programmes is not adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
BT - Indian Dermatology Online Journal DO - 10.4103/idoj.idoj_768_21 IS - 3 LA - eng N2 -Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shown the potential to affect the life of people all over the world either directly or indirectly.
To assess the impact of lockdown measures on treatment of leprosy among patients who received treatment from a tertiary referral centre.
A retrospective study was conducted at the dermatology department of a tertiary referral centre.
We did a retrospective analysis of case records of patients with leprosy who received treatment from our tertiary referral centre from 01 March 2020 to 31 May 2021.
During the 15-month period, 59 patients received multi-drug therapy (MDT) for leprosy from our centre. Thirty-two patients (54.2%) were already receiving MDT as on March 2020, and 27 others (45.8%) were diagnosed with leprosy and started on MDT during the period from March 2020 to May 2021. Two patients (3.4%) developed COVID-19 while on MDT. When lockdown measures were implemented, 12 patients (12/59, 20.3%) discontinued treatment, citing conveyance difficulties. Three patients (3/59, 5.1%) were lost to follow-up.
Small sample size and reliance on retrospective data from a single centre were the major limitations of the study.
A conscious effort is needed from healthcare professionals and the government to ensure that implementation of national programmes is not adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
PB - Medknow PY - 2022 EP - 370 T2 - Indian Dermatology Online Journal TI - Impact of lockdown restrictions on treatment of leprosy: A retrospective analysis UR - https://journals.lww.com/idoj/Fulltext/2022/13030/Impact_of_Lockdown_Restrictions_on_Treatment_of.10.aspx VL - 13 SN - 2229-5178 ER -