Disability Status of the Leprosy Patients Enrolled in a Tertiary Health Centre in a Metropolitan City

Study of disabilities in leprosy remains an important aspect as these lead to daily activity restrictions, loss of job, financial constraints, psychological burden, personnel and social stigma. This study has been carried out to study the socio-demographic profile, socio-cultural aspects and various Disability prevention and medical rehabilitation services available for the leprosy patients in the health centre in a South India urban settings. It is descriptive cross-sectional study carried out at tertiary health centre at Hyderabad, Telangana, South India for three months during September to November 2015. A semi structured questionnaire was used to get complete information about the disease, treatment, disability and services utilized by the patients. A total of 54 leprosypatients were enrolled which included 68% males and 32 % females. 2/54 (3.7%) were children. Multibacillary type was seen in 94.4% and slit skin smears were positive 35% of patients had positive for acid fast bacilli (AFB). Deformities were presenting complain in 18/54 (33.3%) patients, another 11 had disability before coming to the facility but it was not possibly main concern., thus in 29/54 patients (53.7%) the deformity developed before starting MDT. 57% of patients felt benefitted from Disability Prevention and Medical Rehabilitation (DPMR) services. While the patients studied cannot be considered as representative of patient population in this city or region, development of deformities before start of MDT indicates delayed diagnosis in a section of society. Similarly a big proportion of patients' disabilities despite MDT indicates the need for improvement in management practices for reactions and nerve damage.