INTRALESIONAL TREATMENT OF CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS WITH SODIUM STIBOGLUCONATE ANTIMONY

Background. Cutaneous leishmaniasis represents a difficult disease to manage in endemic areas. Systemic treatment is hampered by both expens e and compliance. Side effects may play a major role in this aspect as well. Methods. The effectiveness of intralesional treatment of leishm aniasis was investigated. Seven hundred and ten patients were treated with injections of sodium stibogluconate intralesionally. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by demonstrating the parasite in the smears o btained from the lesion. Fine insulin needle was used to infiltrate th e lesion with sodium stibogluconate (0.5 to 1.0 mL). Results. Generall y eight injections were sufficient, but some of the complicated lesion s needed up to 24 injections. Sixty-two percent of patients were men. The majority of the study population (64%) were children below 15 year s of age. The results showed that 72% of lesions healed completely, 23 .9% showed some improvement, while 4.1% showed some deterioration. Les ions of the lips, cheeks, chin, and neck healed faster than lesions in other parts of the body. Side effects were mild and limited to pain a t the site of the injection and hyperpigmentation in those who were tr eated by folk medicine. Conclusions. Intralesional treatment is as eff ective as the standard systemic antimonials. It offers a less expensiv e alternative and a low side effects profile. Our findings confirmed t he findings of earlier workers. It is recommended for treatment of cut aneous leishmaniasis in endemic areas.