Role of high-resolution sonography and doppler imaging in detecting nerve damage in leprosy patients

Abstract

Leprosy is the chronic infectious disease-causing peripheral nerve damage leading to functional impairment of limbs, ulcer formation, and deformities. Pathological findings of leprosy are nerve enlargement and inflammation, with the help of high-resolution sonography and color Doppler (CD) imaging to demonstrate nerve enlargement and inflammation. Aims: To assess the role of high-resolution sonography in detecting nerve damage in leprosy patients. Methods and Materials: The study group of 30 cases of leprosy performed on e Soate My lab 40 and evaluated bilateral US of the ulnar (UN), lateral popliteal (LP), and posterior tibial (PT) nerves compared this with the sonographic findings in 30 healthy controls. Results and Conclusions: The nerves were significantly thicker in the leprosy patients as compared with healthy controls (P < 0.001 for each nerve). Increased neural vascularity was present in 47 of 158 examined nerves (3%). A significant correlation observed between clinical parameters of the grade of thickening, sensory loss and muscle weakness, and US abnormalities of nerve echotexture, endoneurial flow, and cross-sectional area. Studies have reported that clinical examination of enlarged nerves in leprosy patients is subjective and inaccurate, whereas ultrasonography (USG) provides an objective measure of nerve damage.

Keywords

• color doppler
• high-resolution ultrasonography
• leprosy