title: Leprosy: uncommon presentations.
abstract: The uniqueness of the clinical-dermatologic elements of leprosy recommends that control programs worldwide should diagnose the disease based on the so-called main clinical signs: cutaneous-neurological lesions with sensitivity-motor alterations without obligatory bacteriologic or histopathologic examination. The recognition of initial signs and symptoms of Hansen disease sometimes presents difficulties for its diagnosis, especially considering the relevance of an early diagnosis and the present guidelines for performance of decentralized treatment of the patient in the basic health-care network. The clinical cases illustrating this article were selected because of the degree of difficulty found in the confirmation of their diagnoses that required a histopathologic and/or bacteriologic examination.
authors.affiliation: Sector of Dermatology and Post-Graduation Course in Dermatology, School of Medicine and Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ramos.e.silva@dermato.med.br
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramos-E-Silva
authors.forename: Maria Leide W
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Gabriela H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Munhoz-da-Fontoura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004431:Ear, External; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D013909:Thorax; D014459:Ulnar Nerve; D034941:Upper Extremity