A Clinico-epidemiological Study of Disabilities in Leprosy Patients from an Endemic Area of Central India

People affected by leprosy are at risk of impairment, primarily due to delay in diagnosis. Despite increased efforts, reports from various studies suggest that leprosy is usually diagnosed late, and a high grade 2 disability (G2D) rate especially in untreated cases indicates delayed diagnosis. The study aims to determine the percentage of disabilities among leprosy patients and the association of G2D with various clinical-epidemiological factors. This retrospective study was conducted on 123 leprosy patients attending the Dermatology OPD of AIIMS, Raipur (India) a tertiary care institute in Central India from July 2020 to March 2022. All leprosy patients, including new, partially treated, on-treatment, and released-from-treatment patients, were included in the study. Clinico-epidemiological details of all leprosy patients presenting during this period were noted. 95% (118/123) were of multibacillary (MB) type as per WHO classification. G2D was found among 52.8% (65/123) of leprosy patients included in the study among which 12.3% had already completed treatment and 87.6% were newly diagnosed or under ongoing multidrug therapy. Claw hand was found in 34%, and trophic ulcer was found in 22.7% of leprosy patients. This study shows G2D to be more common in younger age ( six months, ≥ two nerve trunk involvement, Multibacillary cases with BI ≥4, type 2 lepra reaction, and untreated/ undertreatment cases of leprosy; however, the difference was not statistically significant. The prevalence of G2D remains high in the post-leprosy elimination era due to multiple factors, the most important being the delay in initiating treatment and the magnitude of the burden of multibacillary cases. Community-based similar studies could better comprehend the extent and reasons of G2D in newly diagnosed, on treatment, and treated cases for implementing public health measures