Clinico-epidemiological profile of erythema nodosum leprosum cases in Western Odisha

This study was carried out in a hospital setting in Odisha to find out the epidemiological profile and clinical spectrum of ENL and their association with bacillary load, clinical types of leprosy and comorbid conditions of leprosy patients. Out of 1352 cases of leprosy, 97 were diagnosed with rd th ENL. Male patients outnumbered the females (4.3:1), and leprosy patients in their 3 and 4 decade were more commonly found to be having ENL. Majority of the patients belonged to the lepromatous leprosy (LL) spectrum (74.22%). A positive family history of Leprosy was obtained in 7.21% of cases. Diabetes mellitus followed by hypertension was the most common comorbid condition. Whether these conditions have any direct link with ENL needs to be investigated by proper prospective studies. 79.38% of cases had arthritis whereas glomerulonephritis and peripheral edema were observed in 29.89% of cases each. Observations of this study will be useful for planning field based studies in population from Odisha.