Dual arthropathy in previously treated multibacillary leprosy: Inflammatory polyarthritis with neuropathic ankle destruction in an endemic setting.
Siddharth Rai, Harleen Uppal, Rupali Awale et al.
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Case in brief
A 51-year-old woman with a history of multibacillary leprosy presented with polyarthritis affecting her wrists, ankles, and small joints of the hands, mimicking rheumatoid arthritis. Despite completing leprosy treatment in 2014, she showed acid-fast bacilli on slit-skin smear and granulomatous inflammation on skin biopsy. Treatment with anti-inflammatory therapy and rehabilitation led to gradual clinical improvement.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
Clinicians should consider leprosy as a potential underlying cause of inflammatory polyarthritis in patients with a history of the disease, even after treatment.