Thermographic analysis and autonomic response in the hands of patients with leprosy.

Background: Low temperatures and slow blood flow may result from peripheral neuropathy caused by leprosy, and the simple detection of cold fingers could already be a preliminary classification for these patients.

Objective: To investigate whether infrared thermography would be able to measure this change in temperature in the hands of people with leprosy.

Method: The study assessed 17 leprosy patients who were under treatment at the National Reference Center for Sanitary Dermatology and Leprosy, Uberlândia/MG, and 15 people without leprosy for the control group.