Table 2.
Classification, Treatment Status, and Bacilli Index of Lesional Skin Biopsies Generated from 45 Leprosy Patients in the Course of the Disease
| Classification | Treatment status | Number of skin biopsies from patients | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without reactions | With RR | With ENL | |||||
| BI | Total (n) | BI | Total (n) | BI | Total (n) | ||
| Paucibacillary (PB) | |||||||
| TT | Untreated | 0 | 6 | ||||
| TT | RFT | 0 | 1 | ||||
| BT | Untreated | 0–1+ | 16 | 4+† | 1 | ||
| BT | RFT | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Multibacillary (MB) | |||||||
| BB/BL | Untreated | 4–5+ | 9 | 1+ | 1 | ||
| BB/BL | On treatment | 1–4+* | 2* | 0 | 1 | 5+ | 1 |
| BB/BL | On treatment | 4+ | 3 | ||||
| BB/BL | RFT | 0–1+ | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0–1+ | 4 |
| LL | Untreated | 5–6+ | 2 | ||||
| LL | RFT | 0 | 3 | 1+ | 1 |
Patients were classified according to the clinical and histopathological criteria of Ridley and Jopling. The bacterial index (BI) in the biopsies was evaluated by Fite-Faraco-Wade (FFW) staining. The abbreviations are described in the legend of Table 1▶ .
*Follow-up biopsies were taken from two patients on different occasions in the course of treatment. The BI in the follow-up biopsies decreased from 4 to 1+.
†This patient was classified BT based on clinico-histopathological features, irrespective of a BI of 4+. BI: bacterial index.