Letter to the editor. A scale to assess the severity of leprosy reactions

van Brakel, Wim H., Nicholls, Peter G., Lockwood, Diana N.J., Sundar Rao, P.S. and Smith, W.Cairns S. (2007) Letter to the editor. A scale to assess the severity of leprosy reactions. Leprosy Review, 78 (2), 161-164.

Abstract

Recognising and assessing the clinical signs and severity of leprosy reactions is essential for diagnosis and treatment. To promote such awareness there is a potential role for a severity scale that would draw attention to the early signs of leprosy reactions, the choice of treatment and to changes in response to treatment. Early work by Naafs & van Droogenbroeck produced a composite measure called the ‘indice ne´vritique’ (neural index), which used various measures, including motor nerve conduction, an early type of monofilament sensory testing, voluntary muscle testing and nerve enlargement.1,2 Despite them demonstrating the utility of this measure, it was not used, possibly because it included neurophysiological measures, which are frequently not available in centres managing leprosy patients. Unpublished work by Alison Anderson and others at Green Pastures Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre in Pokhara, Nepal, explored the potential of another scale to measure reaction severity. The use of a scale has been reported elsewhere in Nepal.

This record has no associated files available for download.

Contributors

Download statistics