@article{791,
  keywords = {Adult, Drug Therapy, Combination, Eye diseases, Female, Humans, Leprostatic Agents, leprosy, Male, Middle Aged, Nepal, Prevalence},
  author = {Nepal B and Shrestha UD},
  title = {Ocular findings in leprosy patients in Nepal in the era of multidrug therapy.},
  abstract = {<p><b>PURPOSE: </b>Detailed ophthalmic evaluation was performed to determine the prevalence of ocular complications among leprosy patients on multidrug therapy and those released from multidrug treatment.</p><p><b>DESIGN: </b>Observational case series.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>Leprosy patients at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital from April 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002, underwent detailed ophthalmic evaluation including slit-lamp biomicroscopy, dilated funduscopy, and applanation tonometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>We evaluated 58 leprosy patients. A majority (72%) was receiving treatment for multibacillary leprosy; 14% belonged to posttreatment multibacillary and paucibacillary groups. Ocular involvement was found in 57% of patients. In the multibacillary group, 55% had ocular involvement, which was more than double that found in the paucibacillary group (25%), although this finding was not statistically significant (P =.187). Among patients with ocular complications, 48% had visual disability and another 45% had threatened vision; 9% met World Health Organization guidelines for blindness. Uveitis and its complications were the predominant causes of visual disability (88%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>Ocular complications and visual disability are high among leprosy patients in Nepal even after completing multidrug therapy.</p>},
  year = {2004},
  journal = {American journal of ophthalmology},
  volume = {137},
  pages = {888-92},
  month = {2004 May},
  issn = {0002-9394},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ajo.2003.12.048},
  language = {eng},
}