Lepromatous leprosy with atypical clinical presentation in an adolescent from an endemic area of Brazil - a clinical challenge

Abstract

The number of leprosy cases in those aged under 15 years is an important indicator for determining the level of transmission of the disease, and it indicates the need to intensify specific prevention and control measures. A 14-year-old female patient, resident in Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil, was admitted to a leprosy referral clinic, complaining of small skin lesions, initially on the eyebrow, progressing to the malar, ears, knees, feet, and hands, associated with arthralgia in the extremities. Histopathological examination of the skin biopsy was compatible with leprosy. Herein, we reported a patient with dermatological lesions that are atypical for leprosy. It draws attention to the fact that leprosy can clinically mimic several other dermatological or systemic pathologies.