Incapacidades físicas em pessoas acometidas pela hanseníase no período pós-alta da poliquimioterapia em um município no Norte do Brasil

Abstract

Chronic sequelae and disabilities are one of the main problems in leprosy. The current study aimed to estimate the prevalence of disabilities in leprosy patients after successfully completing multidrug therapy in Araguaína, Tocantins State, Brazil. This was a cross-sectional study including 282 cases diagnosed from 2004 to 2009. The degrees of disability at diagnosis and at discharge from treatment were collected from medical records and the National Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN). A simplified neurological workup was performed after discharge from treatment. The prevalence of disabilities at diagnosis was 29.4%, and 8.9% of then was grade II. Between diagnosis and discharge, the degree of physical disability worsened in 25% of cases. At diagnosis, the proportion of deformities was significantly higher in men (RR = 1.7; 95%CI: 1.23-2.37). There was a significant association between disability and multibacillary disease (p < 0.001) and occurrence of reactions (p < 0.001). The data show that after discharge from multidrug therapy, in order to prevent chronic sequelae and functional limitations, continuous monitoring is still needed for individuals that have been recorded as cured and thus deleted from the records.

Trends and forecasts of leprosy for a hyperendemic city from Brazil’s northeast: Evidence from an eleven-year time-series analysis

“…The group aged between 30 and 59 years old includes the Brazilian economically active population, interval that the disease hinders labor activities, forcing individuals to stop working or retire early, decreasing the quality of life of workers [28,36,37]. In this sense, health services should focus on preventive measures by actively seeking individuals in this age group, in addition to diagnosis of cases, providing timely treatment, and early identification of lesions, the purpose of which is also to prevent physical disability.…”

“…In this sense, health services should focus on preventive measures by actively seeking individuals in this age group, in addition to diagnosis of cases, providing timely treatment, and early identification of lesions, the purpose of which is also to prevent physical disability. Early interventions prevent or minimize the high social costs leprosy imposes from removing this population from productive activities and social relationships [28,[36][37][38].…”

“…Similar to other Brazilian studies, higher detection rates were found among male elderly individuals; however, the growing detection rates found among women aged 60 years old or over differ from other studies conducted in Brazil. According to Monteiro et al (2013) [36], 60.3% of the leprosy patients located in the north of Brazil were male individuals aged over 60 years old, while Nobre et al (2017) [32] determined that 15.11% more men than women were affected by the disease.…”

Leprosy physical disabilities in the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort

“…A study of patients residents in the state of Maranhão showed a progressive increase in the chances of developing physical disability among those older than 15 years, ranging from 3 to 10.4 times more [18]. Considering the duration of the disease is directly related to age and, given the chronic pro le of leprosy effects, increasing age may result in more advanced disabilities [17,19].…”

Epidemiological Characteristics of Leprosy and the Effects of its Control in Chongqing, China, 1949-2018

“…It has been reported that the quality of life of patients with functional limitations is adversely affected in both physical health and environmental domains. In addition, sequelae caused by leprosy, such as disability and nerve damage, are major risk factors for Parkinson's disease [26][27][28][29]. Therefore, in the future, the city should improve the early detection of leprosy, strengthen prevention and treatment efforts, reduce the incidence of disability in patients, and eliminate the harm of leprosy [30].…”