Leprosy in a University Hospital in Southern Brazil

AbstractBACKGROUND:Leprosy is an infectious disease that may lead to irreversible nerve damage, compromising patient's quality of life and leading to loss of working years.OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the epidemiological profile of patients followed at a University Hospital.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study, based on a review of medical records. We studied the clinical and epidemiological features of patients with leprosy monitored at the Hospital de Clínicas of the Federal University of Paraná between January 2005 and January 2010.RESULTS:The mean age was 47.51, while 35.94% of patients were aged 41-60. The male:female rate was 1.8:1. The most prevalent occupations were: retired, students or rural workers. Patients came mainly from Curitiba or nearby areas, but there were also patients from the countryside. The mean diagnostic delay was 24.57 months. Multibacillary forms prevailed, with the lepromatous variety being the most common, closely followed by the borderline type. Neural enlargement was found in more than 50% of the patients and 48.44% of them developed reactional states. Hemolysis was the most commonly detected drug side effect. Initial functional evaluation was possible in 70% of patients, 55% of whom had disabilities upon diagnosis. The most prevalent associated disease was hypertension.CONCLUSIONS:This study showed an important diagnostic delay and a high rate of sequelae in this specific population. Brazil is one of the few remaining countries that has not yet eradicated leprosy and it is important to improve health policies in order to prevent sequelae and achieve eradication.

Avaliação dos métodos de classificação do melasma de acordo com a resposta ao tratamento / Evaluation of melasma classification methods based on response to treatment

Introdução: O melasma pode ser classificado, através da lâmpada de Wood e da dermatoscopia, em epidérmico, dérmico e misto. Outros métodos de avaliação são o MASI e o MELASQol. Objetivos: O objetivo do estudo foi comparar os métodos não invasivos de classificação do melasma de acordo com a resposta ao tratamento. Métodos: Selecionadas 10 mulheres com melasma, foram submetidas a tratamento com hidroquinona 4% + tretinoína 0,05% + acetato de fluociolona 0,01% durante 90 dias, e avaliadas antes e após o tratamento por: dermatoscopia, lâmpada de Wood, MASI e MELASQol. Resultados: Não foram encontradas associações significativas entre MASI e classificação dermatoscópica, exame com lâmpada de Wood e MELASQol. O percentual médio de melhora após tratamento por MASI foi de 60,6% e por MELASQol, de 41,1%. À dermatoscopia observaram-se telangectasias na maioria das pacientes (60%), incluídas aquelas sem tratamento prévio. Conclusões: O MASI e o MELASQol são os instrumentos de avaliação que mais refletem a resposta ao tratamento. A classificação pela lâmpada de Wood não demonstrou correlação com a melhora do MASI. A utilização da dermatoscopia para classificação do melasma necessita de mais estudos, visto que os achados encontrados não se correlacionaram com a resposta esperada ao tratamento.

Introduction: Melasma can be classified as epidermal, dermal, or mixed using clinical measures such as Wood's lamp and dermoscopy. The Melasma Area Severity Index and the Melasma Quality of Life Scale are additional subjective classification methods. Objectives:To compare noninvasive melasma classification methods according to response to treatment. Methods: Ten women with melasma were treated with 4% hydroquinone + 0.05% tretinoin + 0.01% fluociolone acetate for 90 days. They were evaluated before and after treatment using dermoscopy, Wood's lamp, and both subjective measures. Results: No significant correlations were found between the Melasma Area Severity Index and dermoscopic classification, Wood's lamp examination and the Melasma Quality of Life Scale. The average percentage improvement after treatment was 60.6% in the severity index and 41.1% in the quality of life scale. Dermoscopy revealed telangiectasia in most patients (60%), including those without prior treatment. Conclusions: The subjective assessment tools best reflected the patients' response to treatment. The classification using Wood's lamp did correlate with improvement measured by the severity index. The use of dermoscopy for classifying melasma requires further research, since the findings were not correlated with the expected response to treatment.