Leprosy in a renal transplant recipient: a case report and literature review.

Abstract

Leprosy is rarely seen in organ transplant patients; only ten cases of leprosy in organ transplant recipients have been reported. We herein report a Taiwanese renal transplant recipient concomitantly infected with borderline lepromatous leprosy. A 68-year-old male received renal transplantation at Guilin, China, in 2000, and then received immunosuppressive therapy with prednisolone, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate. Three years after transplantation, multiple erythematous tender nodules and plaques over the face and lower limbs developed. Biopsies and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of leprosy. We treated the patient with a multidrug regimen including dapsone, clofazimine, and rifampine since November of 2003 with a good response. Unfortunately, he suffered from a cluster of complications after an accidental fall, finally leading to septic shock and death five months later. In summary, we report a rare case of new-onset leprosy after renal transplantation in Taiwan and suggest leprosy should be listed in the differential diagnosis of unusual skin manifestations in organ transplant patients.

• Authors: Hung-Chun Shih, Tung-Wei Hung, Jong-Da Lian, Shih-Ming Tsao, Nan-Kuang Hsieh, Jen-Hung Yang
• Journal: The Journal of dermatology (J Dermatol) Vol. 32 Issue 8 Pg. 661-6 (Aug 2005) ISSN: 0385-2407 [Print] England
• PMID: 16334868 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Leprostatic Agents

Topics

• Aged
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Face
• Humans
• Immunocompromised Host
• Kidney Transplantation
• Leprostatic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Leprosy, Borderline (diagnosis, drug therapy, pathology)
• Lower Extremity
• Male