Diagnostic Forms and Leprosy-related Disabilities in the Province of Cienfuegos from 1980 to 2005

Background: Leprosy is a chronic and communicable disease that has appeared in human beings since their very emergence as species. It can produce, along its evolution, great deformities that patients very much fear. Objective: To describe diagnostic forms and leprosy-related disabilities in the province of Cienfuegos from 1980 to 2005. Methods: A descriptive case series study was conducted with patients diagnosed with leprosy in the province of Cienfuegos. The variables analyzed were diagnostic form (early or late) and presence of disabilities. Data processing was performed using the SPSS program. In this sense, we created a database with the previously mentioned variables. Results: The proportion and trend of diagnostic form (early or late) was not stable. In general, patients with early diagnosis and without disabilities predominated. Conclusions: through the case series study, the importance of early diagnosis to prevent the disabilities became evident: as the number of early diagnosis increases, thus proportionally decreased the number of disabilities in patients.