Analysis of Cooperation Project for Early Diagnosis of Leprosy from 2009 to 2018 / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Background@#Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. As leprosy has a long disease course, various dermatoses must be considered in the differential diagnosis. @*Objective@#In Korea, due to the low incidence rate of leprosy and lack of doctors with experience of leprosy, it is difficult to make an early diagnosis. Therefore, we evaluated the importance of cooperation projects in the diagnosis of leprosy. @*Methods@#A retrospective study was performed on 137 patients who were referred by other hospitals to the Institute for Leprosy Research, Korean Hansen Welfare Association, to make an early diagnosis of leprosy from 2009 to 2018. @*Results@#Among 137 patients, 19 were diagnosed with leprosy, which accounted for approximately 37% of new cases of leprosy in Korea during the 10 years. By nationality, 15 were Korean, and 4 were foreigners. The most common type was lepromatous leprosy. All multibacillary patients were positive for phenolic glycolipid-1 antibody, M. leprae-specific gene polymerase chain reaction, and acid-fast bacilli stain. Among the four paucibacillary patients who showed both negative acid-fast bacilli stain and phenolic glycolipid-1, three were positive for polymerase chain reaction. Of the 55 skin biopsy specimens that were not diagnosed with leprosy, granulomatous skin disease was the most commonly diagnosed condition. @*Conclusion@#In this study, we diagnosed patients with leprosy who were referred from other hospitals due to the suspicion of leprosy, which enables early treatment of leprosy. Finally, we believe that our project has public health significance in preventing the spread of leprosy in the community.