01752nas a2200169   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042100001500054700001600069700001400085245012300099856006900222300001200291490000700303520125800310022001401568       2021                            d  c08/20211 aAguilera M1 aSamaniego L1 aSamudio M00aDelay in diagnosis as a prognostic factor for disability in patients with leprosy in Paraguay. Case and control study.  uhttps://www.scielo.cl/pdf/rci/v38n4/0716-1018-rci-38-04-0532.pdf  a532-5390 v383 a<p><b>BACKGROUND: </b>Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease, is one of the major causes of preventable disability. Early treatment prevents neurological damage and disability.</p><p><b>AIM: </b>To identify prognostic factors of disability in individuals with multibacillary and paucibacillary leprosy who completed a drug treatment between 2011 and 2017 in Paraguay.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>A case-control study was carried out on 34 patients, of them 9 were cases and 25 controls. Cases were those patients with Grade 1, presented lack of sensation in lower or upper limbs, and those of Grade 2 lagophthalmos, rigidity, visible deformity ulcerations, passive claw, active claw. Controls had no disabilities.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Mean age of the patients was 53 ± 15.2 years, 55.9% were male, and 58.9% had primary education or no formal education. Multibacillary leprosy was found in 58.8% of patients; and 64.7% were diagnosed after consulting with two or more physicians. Diagnosis delay of more than one year was significantly (p = 0.047) greater in the cases than in the controls (77.8% vs 12%; OR: 7.44; 95% CI: 1.02-67.86).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>In this study, a diagnosis delay of more than one year is a prognostic factor for disability.</p>  a0717-6341