ABSTRACT
A house-to-house survey was conducted in a community in East Trinidad, where a clustering of cases had been observed. There were 1355 residents, of whom 73.5% had a complete visual skin examination. No new cases of leprosy were found but a variety of skin disorders were diagnosed. The most common disorder was pityriasis versicolor, which is one of the differential diagnoses of hypopigmented skin lesions. This has serious implications for the delayed diagnosis of leprosy. In all, 5 of the 9 old cases residing in the survey area suffered from paucibacillary disease, and had a history of contact with a lepromatous case. They were not listed initially as contacts of this index case. Contact lists should therefore include nonfamilial persons having frequent contact with an index case. The definition of 'frequent' should be determined by each programme. It may also be necessary to review the duration of surveillance of contacts. The survey was estimated to have cost about US $2,500 and was not considered to be cost-effective.
Subject(s)
Leprosy/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Humans , Middle Aged , Prevalence , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Multidrug therapy consisting of rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone, was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago in January 1982. This was with slight modification of the WHO regimens. Since then 717 patients have completed multidrug therapy up to the end of December 1987. Of these, 272 patients have completed surveillance and have been discharged from clinic attendance. Thirty-four patients died before completing surveillance and three are known to have migrated. Of the remaining 408 cases still under surveillance, the majority are multibacillary. This paper reviews the outcome of multidrug therapy in Trinidad and Tobago between January 1982 and December 1987--a period of 6 years, and presents some of the statistics related to the newly diagnosed patients within the same period.
Subject(s)
Leprostatic Agents/administration & dosage , Leprosy/drug therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Cohort Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Drug Administration Schedule , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Humans , Leprosy/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Time Factors , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Multidrug therapy consisting of rifampicin, ciofazimine and dapsone, was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago in January 1982. This was with slight modification of the WHO regimens. Since then 717 patients have completed multidrug therapy up to the end of December 1987. Of these, 272 patients have completed surveillance and have been discharged from clinic attendance. Thirty-four patients died before completing surveillance and three are known to have migrated. Of the remaining 408 cases still under surveillance, the majority are multibacillary. This paper reviews the outcome of multidrug therapy in Trinidad and Tobago between January 1982 and December 1987--a period of 6 years, and presents some of the statistics related to the newly diagnosed patients within the same period. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Male , Female , Leprostatic Agents/administration & dosage , Leprosy/drug therapy , Leprosy/epidemiology , Trinidad and Tobago/epidemiology , Cohort Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Drug Administration Schedule , Drug Therapy, CombinationABSTRACT
Multidrug therapy consisting of rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone, was introduced to Trinidad and Tobago in January 1982. This was with slight modification of the WHO regimens. Since then 717 patients have completed multidrug therapy up to the end of December 1987. Of these, 272 patients have completed surveillance and have been discharged from clinic attendance. Thirty-four patients died before completing surveillance and three are known to have migrated. Of the remaining 408 cases still under surveillance, the majority are multibacillary. This paper reviews the outcome of multidrug therapy in Trinidad and Tobago between January 1982 and December 1987 - a period of 6 years, and presents some of the statistics related to the newly diagnosed patients within the same period. (AU)