spectrum of leprosy with clinicopathological correlation in a tertiary care hospital: a retrospective and prospective study

Background: leprosy is a disease of antiquity and was well-recognized in the oldest civilizations of egypt, china, and india. the first known written record of leprosy appeared in an egyptian papyrus document written around 1550 bce. the disease has been shrouded in significant stigma, often misconstrued as a condition afflicting the cursed or unfortunate or mistakenly attributed to genetic factors.methods: this was a retrospective and a prospective study. the data consisted of approximately 62 cases over two years. non-probability sampling/convenience sampling was performed. modified fite-faraco staining and ziehl-neelsen (zn) staining were done to identify the lepra bacilli.results: out of 62 cases, 34 were male and 28 were female. lepromatous leprosy (ll) was more prevalent in males, and borderline lepromatous (bl) leprosy was more prevalent among females. the 31–40 years age group was the most commonly affected. the incidence of various types of leprosy was as follows: bl leprosy (35.48%) followed by borderline tuberculoid (bt) leprosy (27.42%), ll (22.58%) and tuberculoid leprosy (tl) (12.90%). macules and plaque were the most common clinical presentations associated with bl and ll, respectively.conclusion: the most common clinical presentation of leprosy is anesthetic hypopigmented lesions. modified fite-faraco stain is the staining of choice as it has higher chances of identifying the bacilli than the zn stain. more research needs to be done for a more expedited and swift modality of investigation to identify the bacilli.