Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Leprosy Admitted Over 16 Years at a Rural Hospital in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Analysis

Aim: To analyse differences in children and adolescents aged ≤18 years admitted to the leprosy ward in a rural Ethiopian hospital >16 years. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from leprosy admission registry books on patients with leprosy who were admitted to a referral hospital from September 2000 to September 2016. Results: There were 2129 admissions for leprosy during the study period: 180 (8.4%) patients were s ≤ 18 years old. Of these, 98 (54.4%) were male and 82 (45.6%) were female. The proportion of new diagnoses in children and adolescents was 31.7%, significantly higher than in adults (11.7%; p < 0.001). There were also significant differences in the prevalence of lepromatous ulcers (46.9 vs. 61.7%), leprosy reaction (29.4 vs. 13.0%) and neuritis (16.9 vs.5.3%) between these age groups. Conclusions: There were more new diagnoses, leprosy reactions and neuritis, and fewer lepromatous ulcers, in children and adolescents compared with adults, with younger patients being referred more frequently to reference centres.