COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF THE CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FEATURES IN CUTANEOUSLEISHMANIASIS AND LUPUS-VULGARIS IN TURKEY

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (LC) and lupus vulgaris (LV) are commonly enco untered in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Differential diagnosis is rather difficult and unreliable purely on clinical grounds; thus hi stopathological examination is required. Microscopical findings of bot h lesions may also present some similarities. 12 LC and 16 LV cases we re analysed comparatively regarding the clinicopathological features. In the early stage of LC, macrophage granulomas containing numerous le ishmania parasites was the key microscopic finding. In the late stage of LC, granulomas consisted of epithelioid histiocytes with scanty org anisms were present. LV biopsies showed tuberculoid granulomas with La nghans type giant cells in all cases, and acid fast bacilli were detec ted only in two cases.