A comparative study between 12 and 24-dose therapeutic regimens for multibacillary leprosy patients.

A comparative study was made of the initial and final bacterial indices (BIs) of 213 MB leprosy patients who had been administered 12-dose (Group 1/128 patients) and 24-dose (Group 2/85 patients) World Health Organization multi-drug therapy to measure the effectiveness of both treatment regimens. All patients were evaluated at the beginning of treatment, at 12 months, and again after 24 months had elapsed. Decline in BI values and average BIs at 24 months were found to be similar for both groups. Moreover, no statistical difference between the two treatment regimens was found in the frequency rate of reaction.