Characterization of leprosy in the municipality of Guantanamo in the period 2015-2019

Abstract

Introduction: leprosy is a health problem with a high biopsychosocial impact, however, there is no study that characterizes it in the municipality of Guantánamo. Objective: to characterize clinical aspects of leprosy in the Guantánamo municipality in the period 2015-2019. Method: an observational, retrospective, descriptive and longitudinal study of all patients (N = 117) with this diagnosis was carried out. The frequency of diagnosis by years, clinical forms, detection method, time of diagnosis and degree of disability secondary to this disease were specified. Results: 2017 was the year during which more patients with leprosy were diagnosed (25.7%), the most frequent clinical form was lepromatous (56.4%). More commonly, leprosy was detected spontaneously (83.8%), the diagnosis of leprosy was early (92.3%) and in 93.1% of the patients it did not generate any degree of disability. Conclusions: leprosy is not currently a health problem in the Guantánamo municipality, but the diagnosis is not usually with the precociousness that is demanded since it is still carried out late, with poor recognition of the clinical manifestations by primary health care and population, which reveals the importance of actions aimed at screening for this disease.

Keywords

• lepra
• enfermedad de hansen
• dermatología
• guantánamo