Efeitos adversos da poliquimioterapia em pacientes com hanseníase: um levantamento de cinco anos em um Centro de Saúde da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia / Adverse effects of multidrug therapy in leprosy patients: a five-year survey at a Health Center of the Federal University of Uberlandia

ABSTRACT

The introduction of multidrug therapy (WHO/MDT)-composed by the drugs dapsone, clofazimine and rifampicin has enabled the cure of Hansen's disease, however, the adverse effects of these drugs were not given priority by the health team. Aiming to determine MDT's adverse effects' magnitude and relate them to the non-adhesion of patients to the treatment, a study of 187 charts of patients treated with MDT from January of 1995 to May 2000, was carried out at a Health Center of the Federal University of Uberlandia. Side effects were recorded in 71 patients' charts. Among the 113 side effects found, 80 (70.7 per cent) were related to dapsone, 7 (6.2 per cent) were caused by rifampicin and 26 (20.5 per cent) were attributed to clofazimine. These effects induced 28 (14.9 per cent), patients to change the therapeutic scheme, representing 39.4 per cent from the 71 patients with adverse effects. Throughout this study, the importance is discussed of considering MDT's adverse effects when training the health team to heighten the patient's adhesion to the treatment and thereby collaborating to eliminate Hansen's disease as a public health problem.