Clinical manifestations of bancroftian filariasis with special reference to lymphoedema grading.

We report on some aspects of progression of chronic disease and its association with acute manifestations with special reference to grades of lymphoedema in bancroftian filariasis. These analyses were based on the clinical history and clinical findings of 1300 individuals at the time of their first visit to the filariasis clinic at a centre in south India. The mean number of adenolymphangitis (ADL) attacks in one year was 4.9 +/- 1.7, 5.5 +/- 0.9 and 10.4 +/- 3.2 in patients with grade I, grade II and grade III lymphoedema respectively. The mean duration of oedema was 47.4 +/- 5.9 days, 6.2 +/- 0.5 and 8.6 +/- 0.9 yr in patients with grade I, grade II and grade III lymphoedema respectively. These findings suggest that the progression of lymphoedema from one grade to the next in bancroftian filariasis is associated with increased frequency of ADL attacks.