Abstract: Objective: To summarize the clinical features, treatment and outcome of patients with severe leprosy reaction retrospectively. Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the clinical data of 12 patients with severe leprosy reaction admitted to our hospital from January 2022 to December 2023 retrospectively. Results: Among the 12 patients, there were 8 males and 4 females with an average age of 36.08 years. All cases were borderline lepromatous, including 2 cases of type I leprosy, 6 cases of type II leprosy and 4 cases of mixed leprosy. 11 cases were accompanied by neuritis (91.67%), 4 cases had grade 2 deformity, 3 cases had grade 1 deformity, and the deformity ratio was 58.33%. All patients were treated with glucocorticoid, some with thalidomide or other immunosuppressants, and the leprosy response subsided in all 12 patients. The leprosy reaction worsened or recurred in 4 patients (33.33%) after discharge. Conclusion: The symptoms of severe leprosy reactions present complex and are prone to recurrence, nerve involvement is common, glucocorticoid is the main treatment.

Key words: leprosy, leprosy reaction, retrospective analysis