01782nas a2200373   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653000900080653001100089653001000100653001100110653001100121653001200132653000900144653001600153653002200169100001100191700000900202700000900211700001200220700001100232700000900243700001100252700001100263245011300274856005900387300001000446490000700456050003200463520089900495022001401394       1992                            d  c1992 Jun10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aBiopsy10aChild10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aPeripheral nerves1 aDong L1 aLi F1 aGu Z1 aZhang J1 aChen J1 aGu D1 aWang Z1 aPeng J00aDiagnostic exploration of enlarged peripheral nerves in suspected cases of leprosy. An analysis of 55 cases.  uhttp://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/1992/v63n2/pdf/v63n2a07.pdf  a141-40 v63  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>In 55 cases presenting with enlarged peripheral nerves without any skin lesions, a rice grain-sized biopsy of the nerve lesion was taken for histopathological examination. As a result definitive diagnoses could be established: leprosy was diagnosed in 32 cases. In 23 cases the cause of nerve enlargement was not leprosy: post-traumatic neuritis 9, cysts 5, hypertrophic neuritis 3, nonspecific 4, neurofibroma 1, and amyloidosis 1. In all of these cases there was a deficit of the nerve function and postoperatively there were no complications. The authors, as a result of this experience, believe that surgical exploration and biopsy is a harmless diagnostic tool for establishing a definitive diagnosis of leprosy in cases presenting with enlarged peripheral nerves without any skin lesions. In 23 out of 55 such cases the nerve enlargement was proved to be other causes than leprosy.</p>  a0305-7518