01833nas a2200325   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653001200080653002600092653001100118653001100129653001400140653001000154653002300164653001200187653000900199653001600208653001300224100001200237700001600249245008200265856005900347300001000406490000700416050003200423520103800455022001401493       2001                            d  c2001 Mar10aAdolescent10aAdult10aDapsone10aDrug Hypersensitivity10aFemale10aHumans10aIncidence10aIndia10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aSyndrome1 aRao P N1 aLakshmi T S00aIncrease in the incidence of dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome--an appraisal.  uhttp://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/2001/v72n1/pdf/v72n1a09.pdf  a57-620 v72  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>There has been an increase in the reports of dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS) in the past few years, coinciding with the introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT) for leprosy world-wide. The exact cause of this phenomenon is not clear. We report four cases of DHS observed among 252 leprosy patients on MDT and one case of DHS in a patient taking dapsone for nodulocystic acne in the Dermatology Department of the Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad, India, between June 1997 and January 1999 with few unusual features. In two of these five patients maculopapular rash was severe and progressed to erythroderma. Introduction of MDT in 1982 has not only decreased the prevalence of leprosy but also brought about a positive change in the attitude of people which increased the voluntary reporting of leprosy patients. This, coupled with improvements in organization of leprosy control and awareness among medical personnel of DHS, are probably the most important reasons for the increased reporting of DHS in recent years.</p>  a0305-7518