02092nas a2200397   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653001100080653002800091653002100119653001100140653002400151653001100175653002400186653001200210653000900222653001600231653003100247653001700278653002600295100001200321700001600333700001900349700001700368700001500385700001600400245008600416856005100502300000900553490000700562050003200569520107900601022001401680       2006                            d  c2006 Mar10aAdolescent10aAdult10aBrazil10aDelivery of Health Care10aEndemic Diseases10aFemale10aHealth Care Surveys10aHumans10aInterviews as Topic10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aSurveys and Questionnaires10aTime Factors10aUrban Health Services1 aDeps PD1 aGuedes BV S1 aBucker Filho J1 aAndreatta MK1 aMarcari RS1 aRodrigues L00aDelay in the diagnosis of leprosy in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória, Brazil.  uhttps://leprosyreview.org/article/77/1/04-1047  a41-70 v77  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>This paper reports on the time between the onset of the first lesion and diagnosis, defined as delay, and is based on results obtained by interviewers from a survey carried out amongst 450 leprosy patients in a leprosy endemic area in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória (MRV), state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. The mean age at diagnosis in all cases was 41.47 years and the median was 42.5 years. The mean age at diagnosis in MB (42.9 years) was greater than in PB (38.5 years). The mean of the delay in all cases was 25.25 months, median 12 months and range 0-360 months. The mean of the delay in MB (27.2 months) was greater than in PB (21.3 months). The results of this study suggest that although the delay in leprosy diagnosis in this region of Brazil was not too long when it was compared with other studies in endemic countries, it is still a problem: 65.4% of patients were diagnosed after a delay of 6 months. The Leprosy Control Programme in this state needs more effective health education in order to reduce the current period of delay before diagnosis.</p>
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