A clinico histopathological study of childhood leprosy in a tertiary care institute

Abstract

Background: Leprosy in children forms an important link in the natural evolution and the epidemic profile of the disease. This study was undertaken to know the clinical and histopathological features of childhood leprosy in skin biopsies.Methods: This was both a retrospective and prospective study of childhood leprosy, undertaken in the Department of Pathology, Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi, over a period of 42 months from January 2013 to June 2016.Results: There were 37(13.21%) cases of paediatric leprosy in this study. Most common clinical type and histological type of leprosy was BT (19 cases, 51.37%) and IL (16 cases z, 43. 24%) respectively. Conclusion: Early detection and effective treatment of leprosy patients in the paediatric age group can prevent the development of more severe devastating or crippling adult form of the disease.