Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health
ISSN: 3065-9078 | DOI: 10.64030/3065-9078
Eunice Ferreira Gomes, Iolanda do Nascimento Araújo Rocha, Sebastiao Salazar Jansem Filho
Leprosy remains a major chronic infectious disease with substantial physical disabling potential and enduring social stigma. While multidrug therapy is curative, its prolonged duration and frequent adverse drug reactions severely challenge patient compliance, predisposing individuals to therapeutic failure, clinical relapses, and antimicrobial resistance. This integrative literature review critically analyzed the impact of clinical pharmaceutical care on medication adherence and pharmacotherapy safety among patients undergoing treatment for leprosy. Following established methodological guidelines across major scientific databases from 1997 to 2026, peer-reviewed investigations met all eligibility criteria and constituted the central analytical corpus. Therapeutic adherence across healthcare services was frequently suboptimal, driven by debilitating adverse events such as hemolysis, methemoglobinemia, severe xerosis, and cutaneous hyperpigmentation, compounded by treatment complexity and socioeconomic vulnerability. Clinical pharmaceutical interventions—encompassing structured pharmacotherapeutic follow-up using individualized methodology, patient health education, and active pharmacovigilance demonstrated unequivocal effectiveness. Clinical investigations reported high acceptance rates for pharmaceutical guidance, culminating in the comprehensive resolution of drug-related problems, mitigation of toxicity, and prevention of treatment abandonment. Integrating clinical pharmacists into primary care multidisciplinary teams strengthens the therapeutic alliance, substantially curtails therapy default, and ensures safe completion of curative treatment.