Lepra en la infancia: caracterización de parámetros clínicos en los estados reaccionales Leprosy in childhood: characterization of clinical parameters in reactional states

Summary Objetive: To characterize the reaction states in patients with leprosy in childhood and to correlate them with the next variables: sex, age, clinical form, lesion extension, smear, moment of reaction presentation, response to treatment and grade of disability. Subjects and methods: Retrospective and descriptive study of patients attended in the Leprosy Service of the Instituto de Dermatologia Profesor Rubem David Azulay in Rio de Janeiro, between March 1992 and December 2003 was performed. Results: Seventy hundred and thirty four patients were attended, 85 (12%) patients were between 0 to 14 years old; 15 (18%) patients had reaction, 9 men and 6 women; 8 (53%) were multibacilary; 10 patients (67%) had type 1 reaction, 3 (20%) type 2 reaction and 2 (13%) isolated neuritis. The reaccional episodes appeared at mean age of 5 years old. Patients with disseminated cutaneous lesions had significative predominance of reaction (p = 0,0055). All of patients had a good response to respective treatment. Five patients presented disability as sequel. Conclusion: The occurrence of reaccional episodes at this age is common; the search of clinical signs of this disorder and the education of parents about alert signs must be implemented in order to treat children as soon as possible and avoid development of disabilities.