[Frequency of ocular changes in patients with Hansen's disease living in a colony hospital].
OBJECTIVE
To identify the frequency of ocular changes in patients with Hansen's disease, living in a colony hospital; to confirm the predilection for the anterior segment of the eye instead of the posterior segment.


METHODS
Transversal study of 115 eyes of 58 in-patients at João Paulo II colony, Marituba-Pará, from August to October 1999. The epidemiologic data of this research were obtained from the patients' charts and from information obtained at clinical eye examination. All patients in this study were considered cured of Hansen's disease according to the Health Ministery criteria of cure.


RESULTS
In 114 eyes (99.1%) ocular involvement was observed, the majority (77.2%) being the virchowian form. The most frequent ocular findings in the adnex were parcial madarosis (70.4%) and parcial eyebrow madarosis (59.1%). The most frequent ocular finding related to Hansen's disease was the decrease and/or absence of corneal sensitivity observed in 42.6% of the eyes, followed by paralytic midriasis (16.5%) found in the patients after surgery for cataract extraction; this finding was closely related to iris atrophy (8.7%), commonly found in these patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of ocular involvement in Hansen patients, especially in virchowian form, indicates the need of complete assistance to these patients even after the resolution of the disease.
de Souza
Francineide Sadala
FS
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
de Almeida
Luciana Negrão Frota
LN
Costa
Joângela Pereira
JP
da Rocha
Patrícia Valiati
PV
de Almeida Sobrinho
Edmundo Frota
EF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007914:Leper Colonies; D007918:Leprosy / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence