A 50-year-old Indonesian man presented with arthritis of the left ankle, wrist and hand joints and a diffusely swollen left hand and foot. A few months later granulomatous skin lesions developed and renewed physical examination revealed a paresis of the intrinsic muscles of the left hand and the left M. extensor hallucis longes and thickening of several peripheral nerves. The skin lesions appeared to be anesthetic. A diagnosis of borderline tuberculoid leprosy was made and treatment resulted in cure with permanent peripheral nerve damage. This case emphasizes the importance of early recognition and treatment of leprosy to prevent nerve damage.
BT - Clinical rheumatology C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2758773?dopt=Abstract DA - 1989 Jun DO - 10.1007/bf02030084 IS - 2 J2 - Clin. Rheumatol. LA - eng N2 -A 50-year-old Indonesian man presented with arthritis of the left ankle, wrist and hand joints and a diffusely swollen left hand and foot. A few months later granulomatous skin lesions developed and renewed physical examination revealed a paresis of the intrinsic muscles of the left hand and the left M. extensor hallucis longes and thickening of several peripheral nerves. The skin lesions appeared to be anesthetic. A diagnosis of borderline tuberculoid leprosy was made and treatment resulted in cure with permanent peripheral nerve damage. This case emphasizes the importance of early recognition and treatment of leprosy to prevent nerve damage.
PY - 1989 SP - 266 EP - 8 T2 - Clinical rheumatology TI - Unusual arthritis: be on the alert for leprosy. VL - 8 SN - 0770-3198 ER -