Hansen's disease manifesting as acute distal symmetric microvasculitic polyneuropathy

Abstract

Leprosy or Hansen’s disease is the commonest infectious periphral neuropathy caused by Mycobacterium leprae that mainly afflicts kin and peripheral nerves. The disease is widely prevalent in cerain geographical areas like Asia, Africa and Latin part of America. everity and clinical spectrum is principally dependent on the mmune status of the host. Nerve involvement in leprosy usually follows the pattern f mononeuropathy or mononeuritis multiplex. Bilateral, symetrical, distal polyneuropathy can also be a manifestation of epromatous leprosy, albeit, neuropathy is slowly progressive in hese cases [1]. Also, rare case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome GBS) like presentation in a diagnosed or treated case of leproatous leprosy have been published previously [2–4]. However, cute distal symmetric vasculitic neuropathy as an initial maniestation of leprosy has never been reported. We report a case of cute onset rapidly progressive distal symmetric vasculitic polyeuropathy along with facial paresis and skin lesions. Skin and sural