title: Number of leprosy reactions during treatment: clinical correlations and laboratory diagnosis.
abstract: The occurrence of leprosy reactions, a common event during treatment, may be mostly related to the action of multidrug therapy on Mycobacterium leprae. The clinical and laboratory monitoring of patients with reactions is important, since collecting data that assists in predicting the risk of reactions may help to prevent disability.
  This was a sectional study, in order to correlate clinical and laboratory diagnosis with the number of reactions during treatment. Spearman's correlation was used to verify the degree of association between the assessed variables.
  This study was conducted with 211 patients with leprosy reactions during treatment of M. leprae. The borderline tuberculoid group was the most prevalent clinical form (74/211; 35.1%) and the type one reaction showed the highest frequency (136/211; 64.5%). It was observed that 73.5% (155/211) of reactions occurred within 3 months of the initiation of multidrug therapy. The diagnostic values, including the bacterial indices (BIs) of dermal smears (r = 0.21, p < 0.05) and skin biopsies (r = 0.20; p < 0.05), showed a positive correlation with the number of reactions during treatment.
  This research showed a positive correlation between bacillary load markers and the number of leprosy reactions. This study provided scientific support to future research aiming to elucidate the influence of antigenic load on the number of leprosy reactions during treatment.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas Eulálio
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriela Porto
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana Vitorino Candeiro
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Nicchio
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina Rodrigues da
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafaela Resende
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adeilson Viera da
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Centro de Referência Nacional em Dermatologia Sanitária e Hanseníase, Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabela Maria Bernardes
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Goulart
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D007917:Leprostatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D007917:Leprostatic Agents