01861nas a2200253   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002300055653001100078653001100089653001100100653001200111653000900123100001500132700001500147700001600162700002500178700001900203245020600222300001000428490000700438520114800445022001401593       1984                            d  c1984 Mar10aActuarial Analysis10aBrazil10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale1 aFerreira J1 aBernardi C1 aGerbase A C1 aVelloso de Souza A M1 aMagajewski H O00aUse of the life table to eliminate from the active record Hansen's disease patients out of control and of unknown whereabouts: a six-year experience using this method in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.  a66-730 v523 a<p>Three criteria for the withdrawal of Hansen's disease patients of unknown whereabouts from the active record are presented, based on patients' age, number of years they have been out of control, and probability of their being alive, calculated according to a regional mortality table. In the first criterion, patients who have been lost and who according to their life table have a lower than 50% mathematical probability of being alive were given "statistical discharge." In the second and third criteria, Mitsuda-negative patients who had been lost for more than 20 years and Mitsuda-positive patients who had been lost for more than ten years and who had not been included in the first criterion were given "statistical discharge." During the six years in which the method was used in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 506 patients of unknown whereabouts were withdrawn from the active record, four of whom were found to be alive with the disease in progress. The results that have been achieved suggest an accuracy rate of about 100% for the first criterion of "statistical discharge" and about 98% for the other two criteria.</p>  a0148-916X