Epidemiological and histopathological study of leprosy cases in the state of Sergipe, Brazil.

Leprosy is a disease with different ratings due to the diversity of clinical manifestations. The most used classification by Reference Centers is the histopathological, which has been considered to have better specificity and sensitivity. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the histopathological types of profile of Leprosy patients from different parts of Sergipe, Brazil, from 1985 to 2005. For this purpose, it was used histopathological diagnosis reports filed at Prof. Dr. Nestor Piva Memorial from 1985 to 2005. There were 2,102 reports with Leprosy diagnosis, from which 1,165 (55.4%) cases were women, 1,224 (58.2%) cases were of mixed race and 1,835 (87.3%) were from the metropolitan area of Aracaju/SE. The mean age was 36.62 year. The smear microscopy classified 1,669 (79.4%) lesions as paucibacillary and there was a predominance of tuberculoid and indeterminate forms. Men were more likely to be multibacillary, as well as being the lepromatous pole. The determination of histopathological forms and the knowledge about the association and the epidemiological profile are important tools to contribute to public health policies.