Role of high resolution ultrasound in leprosy

Background: Ultrasonography is a safe and cost-effective modality to assess gross morphological changes in nerves non-invasively. Early diagnosis will allow the early institution of therapy and arrest the progression of the disease thus, helping in decreasing disability grading.

Aims and Objectives:

• To study the clinical spectrum of leprosy patient.

• To assess the peripheral nerves clinically by palpation and then by high resolution ultrasonography and color doppler.

• To correlate the ultrasonography findings with clinical findings

Materials and Method: This is a hospital based prospective study done on 30 newly diagnosed and untreated cases of leprosy patients attending Departmentof Dermatology, SCL Hospital, referred for USG of peripheral nerve to the Department of Radio Diagnosis. HRUS was performed on the bilateral ulnar nerve (UN), median nerve (MN), radial nerve (RN), lateral popliteal (LPN) nerve, and posterior tibial nerve (PTN) to see the following parameters: Nerve thickening, echogenicity, color flow, and abscess.

Result: The ulnar nerve was most frequently involved. Diagnostic performance of HRUS for echogenicity was good with sensitivity, positive predictive valueand specificitywas observed as 72.7%, 72.7%, and 62.5%, respectively.

Conclusion: HRUS has several benefits in leprosy scanning; it is a reliable and non-invasive method of assessing alternations in the nerve at sites that may be difficult to be biopsied for histology.