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Treatment of Leprosy and Lepra Reactions

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Clinical Cases in Leprosy

Part of the book series: Clinical Cases in Dermatology ((CLIDADE))

Abstract

Treatment of leprosy had undergone a significant transformation from a historical regime containing chaulmoogra oil to two decades of dapsone monotherapy from the 1940s to 1960s. Discovery of sterilizing capacities of rifampicin and the need for a multidrug regimen amid rising primary dapsone resistance led to the implementation of multidrug therapy (MDT) advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1982. WHO MDT has been the most effective tool in reducing the burden of disease globally and has remained the cornerstone of leprosy therapy till now. However, apart from changes in the duration of WHO MDT regimen, there has not been much innovation. The chapter provides a broad outline of various MDT regimens, their advantages and disadvantages, and newly introduced drug regimens along with an insight into MDT regimen for leprosy in special scenarios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Smt. NHL Municipal Medical College, SCL General Hospital, Ahmedabad, India

    Santoshdev P. Rathod & Kirti Kalra

Authors
  1. Santoshdev P. Rathod
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  2. Kirti Kalra
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Venereology and Leprosy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India

    Swetalina Pradhan

  2. Dermatology Venereology and Leprosy, Madhubani Medical College and Hospital, Bihar, India

    Piyush Kumar

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Rathod, S.P., Kalra, K. (2022). Treatment of Leprosy and Lepra Reactions. In: Pradhan, S., Kumar, P. (eds) Clinical Cases in Leprosy. Clinical Cases in Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08220-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08220-7_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-08219-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-08220-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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