HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF WHO CLASSIFIED MULTIBACILLARY LEPROSY CASES IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE, SOUTH KERALA

There are signicant differences in the histopathology of leprosy lesions which is inuenced by the host immune response to Mycobacterium leprae. Objective - To nd the histopathological changes in newly diagnosed multibacillary leprosy(MB) cases registered in the skin department Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. Method- skin biopsy performed in 40 multibacillary leprosy cases and histopathological ndings were evaluated. 70% showed epidermal atrophy. Granulomas, composed of sheets of foamy macro Results- phages, lymphocytes and epithelioid cells, were seen in 21 cases & twenty two cases were AFB positive. Eight cases each were lepromatous, borderline tuberculoid, mid boderline, borderline lepromatous types. Conclusion- Presence of 60% cases of borderline leprosy indicates the unstable immune response in leprosy patients. Majority were either borderline lepromatous or lepromatous showing the infective nature of multibacillary leprosy. Histopathological examination with Fite- Foroco staining is a crucial method and the gold standard for accurate diagnosis and typing of leprosy.