01683nas a2200193   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042100001300054700001400067700001300081700001700094700001300111700001200124700001200136245014400148300001100292520117200303022001401475       2020                            d  c08/20201 aNarang T1 aBishnoi A1 aThakur V1 aChatterjee D1 aRazmi MT1 aKamat D1 aDogra S00aPersistent plaques after release from treatment in slit-skin smear negative leprosy patients: wait and watch or adopt a proactive approach?  ae142263 a<p>A subset of leprosy patients have clinical and histopathological activity in the form of persistent plaques and granulomas after completion of multidrug therapy (MDT) which can have significant impact on their quality of life. In the absence of clear guidelines regarding management of such patients, majority of the times they are treated either as late reversal reaction with corticosteroids or no active treatment is offered. We observed 11 patients of leprosy with persistent plaques after completing the 6/12-months MDT who were treated favourably with minocycline 100mg once daily for 16 weeks. Complete clinical resolution was observed in 9/11 patients while 2 patients had partial improvement. Histopathological improvement in the form of disappearance of granulomas corroborated with the clinical improvement. All the patients tolerated the treatment well and hyperpigmentation was the only adverse effect noted. Minocycline may be considered as a useful and well tolerated therapeutic option for this subset of leprosy patients due to its immune modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.</p>  a1529-8019