In a country where leprosy is endemic and where HIV infection is still expanding and
interiorizando is expected to find an increase in the prevalence of individuals living
with both leprosy and HIV / AIDS. Aiming to identify risk factors for leprosy in people
with HIV / AIDS and describe clinical and epidemiological aspects, there was a case
control study involving 33 patients co-infected (HIV / leprosy) and 90 controls (HIV /
AIDS without leprosy). In the sample studied the male was more frequent in both the
co-infected as in controls, prevailed youth and young adults in both groups, Belém
was the most frequent area of origin between co-infected and controls, there was no
difference between family income of co-infected and controls, the co-infected patients
presented with their majority in the AIDS stage with great oscillation of peripheral
CD4 cells. The clinical forms most often found among those co-infected, were the
paucibacillary, with the average of CD4+ cells in peripheral blood significantly higher
in the group of co-infected. The probable risk factors for leprosy related to HIV
infection (clinical situation, state of immunodeficiency laboratory and co-morbidity
with other mycobacteriosis) were not statistically significant. Risk factors for leprosy
already described in the literature, such as contacts intradomiciliares and family
history of leprosy, have been shown to be significantly the risk factors for leprosy in
individuals with HIV / AIDS, increasing by 45 times and 21 times respectively, the
chance of becoming ill from evil of Hansen. Most co-infected showed signs and
symptoms of leprosy 6 months after the start of HAART, confirming previous studies
that suggest leprosy to be a disease associated with immune reconstitution in patient
with HIV / AIDS. Subsequent studies are needed to complement to this and previous
on this so intriguing and challenging co-infection.
|
