Pôster:

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, its main sites being the skin and peripheral nerves. Brazil is the second country in number of cases, losing only to India. Due to the high number of cases and the possibility of musculoskeletal manifestations of the disease, rheumatologists should be aware of the possibility of this diagnosis both as primary disease and in patients immunosuppressed by other rheumatic diseases or use of medications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the number of new cases in Brazil from 2015 to 2017.

Materials and methods

Descriptive, ecological study, in a time series, based on data obtained from the SINAN and the General Coordination of Leprosy and Diseases in Elimination (CGHDE). Data were collected on patients with leprosy in the period 2015 to 2017. Variables analyzed: new cases per state, cutaneous lesions, clinical forms and therapeutic schemes.

Results

In the period 2015-2017, 76.919 new cases of leprosy were reported in Brazil, with the highest number of cases occurring in the Northeast region (TABLE 1). There was a prevalence of 2-5 cutaneous lesions (TABLE 2), and the clinical form with the largest number of cases was dimorphic (TABLE 3). As for the therapeutic scheme, the most used was the MDT / MB / 12 doses (TABLE 4). TABLE 1: New cases of leprosy by region of Brazil in the period 2015-2017 Region New cases 2015-2017 TOTAL 76.919 North 14.817 Northeast 33.750 South 2.555 Southeast 10.322 Midwest 14.942 TABLE 2: Skin lesions of leprosy in the period 2015-2017. SKIN LESION NUMBER OF CASES TOTAL 76.919 0 3.845 1 18,185 2-5 27.529 >5 lesões 11.341 Ignored 16.019 TABLE 3: Clinical forms of leprosy in the period 2015-2017 CLINICAL FORMS NUMBER OF CASES TOTAL 76.919 Ignored 2.932 Undetermined 10.707 Tuberculoid 11.715 Dimorph 34.899 Virchowiana 12.307 Unclassified 4.359 TABLE 4: Therapeutic schemes of leprosy in the period 2015-2017 THERAPEUTIC SCHEMES NUMBER OF CASES TOTAL 76.919 Ignored 135 PQT 6 doses 21.877 PQT 12 doses 54.424 Other alternative schemes 483

Conclusion

Brazil is an endemic country in leprosy and has presented a considerable number of new cases in three years. It is up to the rheumatologist to have a high level of suspicion for proper management and prevention of sequelae.