Clinical Neurological Profile of Patients with Leprosy in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

Editor's Abstract:

Introduction: Leprosy, still considered a public health problem in any countries, among them Brazil, causes multiple sensory and/or motor signs and symptoms of the peripheral nervous system (SMSSPNS). This study aimed to analyze a pretreatment neurological profile of patients with leprosy.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, whose participants 400 patients diagnosed with leprosy. Data collection took place through the collection from medical records and clinical examination of patients. It determined the frequency distribution of SMSSPNS, thickening of the nerves and committed peripheral nerves (PNC) as well as the sex and the average age.

Results: Over 93% of the patients presented at least 1 (one) sensory symptom, and hypoesthesia was the most prevalent among them. 59% displayed motor dysfunction and a 50.25% rate of neural thickening. Hypoesthesia had a higher prevalence among individuals whose symptoms appeared more than 12 (twelve) months ago (58.86%, p= 0.018), and there was no association between other SMSSPNS and the disease’s time of onset; or between SMSSPNS and CPN, according to the leprosy forms. The most affected nerve is the sensory-motor ulnar (57.48%).

Conclusion: The most frequent alterations were categorized as sensitives, including hypoesthesia (with a higher prevalence in comparison to when it first appeared, more than 12 months ago) and impairment of the sensory-motor ulnar nerve.