Aspectos clínicos, epidemiológicos e terapêuticos da hanseníase: uma revisão de literatura

Abstract

Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease with a prolonged incubation period and slow evolution. Caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. The objective of the study was to contribute to the analysis of the scenario of leprosy in Brazil and to discuss which are the aspects of greater prevalence of the disease, for a possible confrontation of this endemic. Electronic bibliographic surveys were carried out in the VHL®, LILACS® and SCIELO® databases. The historical cut of the publications was established in the period from 2017 to 2022 and only articles published in Portuguese were selected. Most consisted of case studies. The variables analyzed in the selected articles were sex, age, most susceptible drugs, illness and death. The respective results were: men as the main affected; the most affected group is those aged over 10 years; association made with rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine; and the Virchowian form is the most prevalent, with regard to treatment, finally, it was observed that in all studies multidrug therapy was adopted, with dapsone, clofazimine and rifampicin, which is recommended by the WHO and Ministry of Health, since with regard to disease prevention, the Ministry of Health recommends early diagnosis and intradermal use of BCG. In this way, the article demonstrates the importance of early diagnosis and adherence to appropriate treatment, in addition to the relevance of greater awareness of the general population about the disease to reduce transmissibility and deaths in leprosy.