Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Incidence and prevalence are underestimated due to challenges in diagnosis and unfamiliarity with the disease in Canada. Untreated disease can lead to permanent nerve damage with subsequent loss of function. We present a case of Hansen's disease with delay in diagnosis and treatment. A 31-year-old female recent immigrant from the Philippines presented with a 2-year history of a palpable erythematous rash on her face and arms. She had a diagnosis of cryoglobulinemic vasculitis associated with her chronic hepatitis B. A course of topical corticosteroids did not alleviate symptoms. The rash had a waxing and waning pattern that was felt to mirror her antiviral therapy. Although hepatitis B cryoglobulinemia has been reported in the remote literature, further studies have failed to illustrate that it is a significant cause of cryoglobulinemia. Retrospective analysis of the case identified that anchoring to the initial diagnosis was the reason for delay in diagnosis and treatment.
BT - Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada C1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36340646 DA - 10/2019 DO - 10.3138/jammi.2019.05.24.01 IS - 3 J2 - J Assoc Med Microbiol Infect Dis Can LA - eng N2 -Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Incidence and prevalence are underestimated due to challenges in diagnosis and unfamiliarity with the disease in Canada. Untreated disease can lead to permanent nerve damage with subsequent loss of function. We present a case of Hansen's disease with delay in diagnosis and treatment. A 31-year-old female recent immigrant from the Philippines presented with a 2-year history of a palpable erythematous rash on her face and arms. She had a diagnosis of cryoglobulinemic vasculitis associated with her chronic hepatitis B. A course of topical corticosteroids did not alleviate symptoms. The rash had a waxing and waning pattern that was felt to mirror her antiviral therapy. Although hepatitis B cryoglobulinemia has been reported in the remote literature, further studies have failed to illustrate that it is a significant cause of cryoglobulinemia. Retrospective analysis of the case identified that anchoring to the initial diagnosis was the reason for delay in diagnosis and treatment.
PY - 2019 SP - 187 EP - 189 T2 - Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada TI - Leprosy: Challenges in diagnosis. UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603024/pdf/jammi.2019.05.24.01.pdf VL - 4 SN - 2371-0888 ER -