title: Are defaulters with paucibacillary leprosy a problem?
abstract: This study examined the risk of relapse in 421 paucibacillary patients who had defaulted after varying periods of dapsone monotherapy; short of the recommended course. The 421 patients contributed a total of 2,162 person years of risk; 10 patients relapsed, giving a relapse rate of 4.6 per 1000 persons years of risk, or a crude relapse rate (RR) of 2.4%. This paper discusses the issue of defaulters with paucibacillary leprosy and the findings of the study suggest that defaulters with paucibacillary leprosy are not a serious problem in terms of leprosy control.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003622:Dapsone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007916:Lepromin; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D012008:Recurrence; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D007916:Lepromin; D003622:Dapsone