CLINOCOEPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF HANSEN'S DISEASE: A RETROSPECTIVE HOSPITAL RECORDS BASED ANALYSIS

Background: Hansen's disease remains an important cause of preventable peripheral nerve injury and disability in endemicregions. Hospital surveillance can identify patterns of multibacillary disease, reactions, nerve involvement, and disabilitythat may reflect delayed diagnosis. The objective is to describe the demographic profile, clinical spectrum, bacteriologicalfindings, lepra reactions, peripheral nerve involvement, and recorded grade 2 disability among newly registered Hansen'sdisease cases at a tertiary-care hospital in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: This retrospectivehospital-record-based descriptive study included 224 eligible new Hansen's disease cases registered in the Department ofDermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, Government General Hospital, Srikakulam, from January 2022 to December 2024.Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results: Mean age was 42.9 ± 16.5 years; 150 (67.0%) patients weremale and 209 (93.3%) were rural residents. Borderline tuberculoid disease was most frequent (109, 48.7%), followed byborderline lepromatous disease (34, 15.2%), pure neuritic disease (28, 12.5%), and lepromatous disease (26, 11.6%).Multibacillary disease was recorded in 144 (64.3%) patients. Slit-skin smear positivity occurred in 49 (21.9%), while at leastone thickened peripheral nerve was documented in 145 (64.7%). Lepra reactions were present in 44 (19.6%): type 1 in 27(12.1%) and type 2 in 17 (7.6%). Recorded grade 2 disability/deformity was present in 46 (20.5%), with the highest subtypeproportion in pure neuritic disease (16/28, 57.1%). Conclusion: The cohort showed multibacillary disease, nerveinvolvement, reactions, and visible disability, supporting earlier detection and nerve-function assessment.