RESUMO
There is a scarcity of the histopathologically proven lesions of leprosy in the oral cavity, in the world literature. A 55-year-old man had come with a complaint of asymptomatic nodular lesions in the oral cavity. Cutaneous lesions and peripheral nerve examination were suggestive of lepromatous leprosy. Histopathologic examination of a nodule on the palate demonstrated diffuse macrophagic granulomas and acid-fast bacilli.
Assuntos
Hanseníase Virchowiana/diagnóstico , Hanseníase Virchowiana/patologia , Boca/patologia , Humanos , Hanseníase Virchowiana/microbiologia , Lábio/microbiologia , Lábio/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Boca/microbiologia , Mycobacterium leprae/isolamento & purificação , Palato Mole/microbiologia , Palato Mole/patologiaRESUMO
Leprosy is a chronic infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a bacillus that presents a peculiar tropism for the skin and peripheral nerves. The clinical spectrum of leprosy ranges from the tuberculoid form (TT) to the disseminative and progressive lepromatous form (LL). Oral lesions are rare but, when present, occur in the lepromatous form. This article describes the clinical and microscopic findings of three cases of LL with oral manifestations. All patients had the lepromatous form and their leprosy-specific oral lesions occurred in the palate. The diagnosis was based on clinical, serological and histopathological findings, and multidrug therapy for multibacillary leprosy was started and continued for 24 months. All patients completed treatment, but developed reaction episodes which were treated with prednisone and/or thalidomide. The authors emphasize the importance of oral mucosa evaluation by a dental health professional during patient care since oral lesions may act as a source of infection.