02482nas a2200397   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653001600065653003100081653003000112653001700142653001100159653001100170653001400181653001000195653002300205653001200228653000900240653003200249653002400281653002000305653001700325100001300342700001600355700002100371700001500392700001800407700001700425245011700442856006900559300001100628490000700639520142400646022001402070       2006                            d  c2006 May10aAdult10aAge Factors10aBacteriological Techniques10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aEye diseases10aFemale10aHumans10aIncidence10aIndia10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMale10aProportional Hazards Models10aProspective Studies10aRisk Assessment10aTime Factors1 aDaniel E1 affytche T J1 aSundar Rao P S S1 aKempen J H1 aDiener-West M1 aCourtright P00aIncidence of ocular morbidity among multibacillary leprosy patients during a 2 year course of multidrug therapy.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1857025/pdf/568.pdf  a568-730 v903 a<p><b>AIM: </b>To evaluate the incidence of and risk factors for ocular complications in multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients during their 2 year, fixed duration, multidrug therapy (MDT).</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>Periodic eye examinations were conducted prospectively on a cohort of 301 consecutive newly diagnosed MB patients every 6 months during their 2 year course of MDT. Incidence of ocular pathology was calculated as the number of events per person year of event free follow up of patients who did not have the specific finding at baseline.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>292 (97%) patients had one or more follow up visits. The incidence of lagophthalmos was 1.2%/patient year (95% CI 0.5% to 2.8%); corneal opacity was 7.4%/patient year (95% CI 5.1% to 10.6%); uveal involvement was 5.1%/patient year (95% CI 3.3% to 7.8%), and cataract that reduced vision to 6/18 or less was seen in 4.3%/patient year (95% CI 2.7% to 6.9%) of patients. Overall, 23 individuals (5.8%/patient year, 95% CI 3.9 to 8.8) developed leprosy related potentially blinding pathology during the 2 years of MDT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Approximately 20% of patients with MB leprosy can be expected to develop ocular complications of leprosy during a 2 year course of MDT, many (11%) of which are potentially vision threatening. Ophthalmological monitoring to detect and treat ocular complications at defined intervals during MDT is indicated.</p>  a0007-1161