بررسي وضعيت معلوليت بيماران جذامي زنده استان كردستان در سال 1384

The Study of Disability Status in Live Leprotic Patients in Kurdistan Province in 2005

Background and Aim: Leprosy is a contagious disease which may lead to disability before, during or after treatment. There have been different reports about the prevalence of disabilities of leprosy in different parts of the world. This study deals with the status of disabilities in live leprosy patients in Kurdistan province. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive study. The live patients who were accessible were selected on the basis of their records. The patients whose medical records were incomplete, were examined and their disabilities were assessed on the basis of WHO protocol about grading of disabilities in leprosy. The data were collected and analyzed by use of a SPSS software. Results: 180 patients were included in this study, of whom 116 (64.4%) were male and 64 (35.6 %) were female. 126 (70 %) patients had multibacillary and 54 (30 %) of them had paucibacillary leprosy. In our study 152 (84.4%) patients had developed disabilities of variable degrees. The prevalence rate of disabilities was more in multi bacillary leprotic patients. There was no sensible relation between disabilities and sex or residential areas. Conclustion: The main objective of treatment is prevention of disabilities in the patients. Prevalence of disabilities in the leprosy patients of Kurdistan province, was higher than those of other parts of the world which might have been due to delay in referring to healthcare centers, incomplete treatment course and having no access to medical centers in the past.