A LOW-DOSE ANTIMONY TREATMENT IN 159 PATIENTS WITH AMERICAN CUTANEOUSLEISHMANIASIS - EXTENSIVE FOLLOW-UP-STUDIES (UP TO 10 YEARS)

The efficacy of an antimony regimen at the dose of 20 mg/kg/day for a 3-4-week period is well established in the treatment of American cutan eous leishmaniasis. Several drug side effects, however, have been desc ribed and the search for more suitable regimens is advisable. In the p resent paper, the effect of a low dose (5 mg/kg/day for 30 days) of an timony was evaluated in 159 individuals from endemic regions of Rio de Janeiro Stare, Brazil, an area of Leishmania (V.) braziliensis transm ission. Patients presented typical cutaneous lesions and parasites wer e demonstrated in all cases. One hundred forty-three patients were ava ilable for evaluation and of these, 120 (84%) were cured by the end of therapy. Twenty-three patients (16%) were considered treatment failur es. Side effects were observed in only six patients (4%). Extensive fo llow-up (up to 10 years) disclosed no relapses or mucosal lesions. The results show that a low dose of antimony is less toxic, more appropri ate, especially in children and elderly people, and has the same final result as that obtained with larger doses.