Dual arthropathy in previously treated multibacillary leprosy: Inflammatory polyarthritis with neuropathic ankle destruction in an endemic setting.

Trop DoctMay 10, 2026 (epub)

Siddharth Rai, Harleen Uppal, Rupali Awale et al.

✦ AI-curated · Sources linked

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.

Source

Published in Trop Doct. This summary was written by xxcode from the publication's abstract and metadata. It is not peer reviewed and is not a substitute for the original article. For clinical decisions, review the original publication.

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