This is a retrospective cohort study of 103
multibacillary leprosy patients (18% BB, 48% BL and 34% LL) followed during and
after treatment, in a tertiary referral centre with an outpatient clinic in an endemic area in Brazil, for an average period of 65 months since the start of multidrug
therapy (24-dose MDT). The objective of the study was to identify the role of overt
neuritis (presence of
pain in a peripheral nerve trunk, with or without enlargement or neural function damage), in the development of impairments. They were evaluated using the World Health Organization disability grade before treatment, at the end of the treatment, and at the end of the follow-up period. Thirty-four percent of patients presented overt
neuritis during MDT, and 45% had overt
neuritis episodes during the follow-up period; the most commonly affected nerves were ulnar, fibular and posterior tibial nerves, and the neuritic episodes were carefully treated with
steroid therapy and physiotherapy. Impairments were associated with: affected (painful and/or thick) nerves at diagnosis (P < 0.005); delay in diagnosis (P = 0.010); impairments already present at the start of treatment (P = 0.00041 at the end of MDT, and P = 0.000013 at the end of follow-up); occurrence of overt
neuritis episodes during MDT (P = 0.0016) or the whole follow-up (P = 0.015). These data draw attention to the importance of early diagnosis and of good neurological examination throughout the follow-up, as well as suggest the importance of
neuritis in the induction of impairments in
multibacillary leprosy.