Repercurssions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of people with leprosy: Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

To verify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life (QL) of patients with leprosy. This was an integrative literature review, consisting of 13 articles published until December 2021 after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. It was found that the pandemic impacted the health care of these patients, although strategies were implemented to minimize exposure to microorganisms, failures in tracking, diagnosis and prevention of cases were noted, due to underreporting, distancing from primary health care (PHC), exacerbations of reactions and co-infection. In this bias, patients became more vulnerable to infection as a result of social isolation, lack of active search, rooted stigma, and the change in the focus of PHC care. The use of steroids was controversial regarding the reduction of symptoms and host immune response. The severity was related to the co-infection, with negative repercussions in a systemic way and further increasing the QL of those affected. The coexistence of the diseases resulted in variable manifestations in view of the management adopted and the lack of health care during the pandemic made people with leprosy more vulnerable to COVID-19.