Wade’s histoid leprosy in a 14-year-old teenage boy

Abstract

Wade's histoid leprosy (HL) is a rare variant of multibacillary leprosy, with characteristic clinical, immunologic, histopathologic, and bacteriologic features. It is associated with resistance to sulfa drugs or polychemotherapy and is rarely observed in patients who have not undergone prior treatment. Clinically, HL resembles keloid or dermatofibroma. Furthermore, HL is rare in children and is difficult to diagnose even by experts. This report describes a case of HL in a 14-year-old Brazilian boy, who presented with multiple nodular and tumor-like lesions, simulating keloids. He had not undergone prior treatment with anti-leprosy drugs, which accentuates the relevance of this case report.

Treatment of histoid leprosy: a lack of consensus

“…Of the three unsuccessful cases, one was attributed to poor compliance 8 . The other two patients had incomplete clearance at 12 months of therapy, requiring another 12 months of MB‐MDT 9,16 …”