DDS (diaminodiphenyl sulfone) is a sulfa drug which has long been used in the treatment of leprosy. In most cases medications used in the treatment of leprosy are discontinued after the patient is clinically well and skin smear acid-fast bacteria (AFB)(-). However, DDS has been used prophylactically as well, with many patients taking the drug for twenty or thirty years to prevent recurrence. There are two issues surrounding this long term use of low dose medication. First is the possibility of bacilli developing resistance to the drug. The second is that dormant bacilli which may remain hidden in the patient's peripheral nervous system for years may become reactivated when the drug dose is lowered or completely discontinued and cause disease. Distinguishing symptomatology due to development of resistance versus reactivation of persistent bacilli secondary to tapering of drug dosage can be difficult clinically, but is important. In the first case, long term use of medication for prophylaxis should be avoided, while in the second case it is necessary to prevent recurrence of disease.
In this study done at Oku-komyoen, Japan during the years 1990-1996, a total of 22 patients were followed clinically and by skin smear AFB stain. During this period, 16 patients were found to have recurrence. Among patients being treated prophylactically with antibiotics, the rate was 24%(8 patients). However, among patients receiving only DDS, the recurrence rate was 78%. Patients in whom all antibiotic prophylactic regimens had been discontinued had a recurrence rate of only 2%. In a survey done of all Hansen's disease patients in Japan, similar statistics were obtained. According to these results, it appears that in the treatment of Hansen's disease, the risks of long-term DDS use for prophylaxis outweigh the benefits and the medication should be discontinued once patients are clinically well and AFB skin
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