SLIT SKIN SMEAR EXAMINATION (M.LEPRAE)

Overview

Slit-skin smear (SSS) is a cytodiagnostic technique used as a side laboratory procedure in the diagnosis of various cutaneous dermatoses. It is a safe and easy technique, in which collection of sample is done from a tiny cut in the lesional skin, stained, and examined under a microscope. Diagnosing and classifying leprosy solely on the basis of skin lesions as per WHO operational classification may lead to over or under diagnosis and inadequate treatment particularly of pauci-lesional multibacillary cases with consequent risk of resistance, relapse and progressive horizontal transmission