Evaluation of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with Slit Skin Smear Examination (SSS) to Confirm Clinical Diagnosis of Leprosy in Eastern Nepal.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Detection of Mycobacterium leprae in slit skin smear (SSS) is a gold standard technique for the leprosy diagnosis. Over recent years, molecular diagnosis by using PCR has been increasingly used as an alternative for its diagnosis due to its higher sensitivity. This study was carried out for comparative evaluation of PCR and SSS microscopy in a cohort of new leprosy cases diagnosed in B. P. Koirala Institute of health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.

Methodology/principal findings

In this prospective crossectional study, 50 new clinically diagnosed cases of leprosy were included. DNA was extracted from SSS and PCR was carried out to amplify 129 bp sequence of M. leprae repetitive element. Sensitivity of SSS and PCR was 18% and 72% respectively. Improvement of 54% case dete

SUBMITTER: Siwakoti S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5189933 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature