Case report of a histoid leprosy patient

Histoid leprosy is one of the rare kinds of lepromatous leprosy with specific clinical pathologic manifestations. It is most commonly observed in patients who have been under long-term single drug therapy with dapsone. Clinical manifestations mostly consist of red papules and nodules and pathologic examination there are spindle like histiocytes. Following acid-fast staining, abundant bacilli can be seen. Significance of these patients is due to their rarity, atypicality of dermal lesions, failure in early diagnosis, and high bacillus load which can be a barrier in the eradication of the disease and act as a potential source of infection in areas where the disease has been eradicated. Our case showed up with plentiful dermal papules and nodules from two years ago which caused no discomfort. He had a history of leprosy 25 years ago and had been treated only with dapsone for 3 years. Therefore, the diagnosis of histoid type lepromatous leprosy was made and confirmed based on clinical and histopathological findings.