Incidence and Clinical Patterns of Leprosy in Interior Sindh; Retrospective Study

Objective: Incidence and Clinical Patterns of Leprosy in Interior Sindh: A Four-Year Retrospective Analysis. Study Design: A case-control retrospective study Place and Duration of Study: This study examines newly diagnosed leprosy cases in interior Sindh and was conducted at the Pathology Department CMC (SMBBMU), Larkana from August 2023 to July 2024. Methods: The study comprised newly diagnosed leprosy patients from 17 designated locations. Cases were people who were diagnosed with leprosy based on clinical s igns and laboratory results. All cases' demographic information, such as age, gender, regional distribution, and clinical trends, were obtained. All data was analysed using the SPSS 26 version software. Results: A total of 239 new leprosy cases were registered across all leprosy centers in interior Sindh between 2019 and 2022. Male patients accounted for 154 cases (64.43%), outnumbering female patients, who comprised 85 cases (35.56%). The mean age of the patients was 42.44 ± 10.22 years, ranging from 3 to 59 years. Notably, the 15–30-year-old age group was the most affected. During the four-year study period, the most common forms of leprosy observed were borderline tuberculoid (BT) in 92 cases (38.49%), tuberculoid tuberculoid (TT) in 72 cases (30.12%), borderline lepromatous (BL) in 48 cases (20.08%), borderline borderline (BB) in 16 cases (6.69%), and lepromatous lepromatous (LL) in 11 cases (4.6%). Additionally, multibacillary (MB) cases were more prevalent, with 172 cases (71.96%), while paucibacillary (PB) cases accounted for 67 cases (28.03%). Conclusion: To eliminate the stigma associated with the illness by educating the public about the fact that it is a bacterial disease that is readily curable.