02218nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653001100066653001100077653001200088653001100100653000900111653001900120653000900139100001800148700001900166700001200185245011200197856004100309300001000350490000700360520157100367022001401938       1987                            d  c1987 Mar10aBiopsy10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMalawi10aMale10aMass Screening10aSkin1 aMcDougall A C1 aPonnighaus J M1 aFine PE00aHistopathological examination of skin biopsies from an epidemiological study of leprosy in northern Malawi.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v55n1a13.pdf  a88-980 v553 a<p>This report describes the histopathological findings in 686 biopsies obtained from 664 individuals during the course of a total population survey for leprosy in Northern Malawi. The criteria for the selection of cases for biopsy, the biopsy technique using a 4-mm punch, fixation method, transport of biopsies from Africa to the United Kingdom, and the method of coding histopathological results are described. Fifty-two percent (354) of the biopsies showed definite evidence of leprosy on histopathological examination. Using the Ridley-Jopling system, these biopsies were classified as follows: TT = 60 (17%); TT/BT = 68 (19%); BT = 194 (55%); BT/BB = 4 (1%); BB = 4 (1%); BB/BL = 4 (1%); BL = 7 (2%); BL/LL = 3 (1%); LL = 6 (2%). In addition, four (1%) biopsies were classified as "indeterminate" on histology, meaning that although there was evidence of leprosy it was not possible to provide a precise classification. A further 117 biopsies (17% of the total) had abnormal changes, often including epithelioid cell granulomas, possibly caused by leprosy but lacking specific criteria for that diagnosis. Finally, 203 (30%) of the biopsies had nonspecific (often minimal) changes, and 11 (2%) of the total showed evidence of some dermatological condition other than leprosy. Histopathological examination of biopsies in this study confirmed the clinical classification in 98% of the cases in which the histopathologist found evidence of leprosy, and supplied further evidence for the very high proportion of paucibacillary cases in this part of the world.</p>  a0148-916X