Project description:BackgroundPentavalent antimonials (Sb5) and miltefosine are the first-line drugs for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis in Colombia; however, toxicity and treatment duration negatively impact compliance and cost, justifying an active search for better therapeutic options. We compared the efficacy and safety of thermotherapy and meglumine antimoniate for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Colombia.MethodAn open randomized Phase III clinical trial was performed in five military health centres. located in northwestern, central and southern Colombia. Volunteers with parasitological positive diagnosis (Giemsa-stained smears) of cutaneous leishmaniasis were included. A single thermotherapy session involving the application of 50°C at the center and active edge of each lesion. Meglumine antimoniate was administered intramuscularly at a dose of 20 mg Sb5/kg weight/day for 20 days.ResultsBoth groups were comparable. The efficacy of thermotherapy was 64% (86/134 patients) by protocol and 58% (86/149) by intention-to-treat. For the meglumine antimoniate group, efficacy by protocol was 85% (103/121 patients) and 72% (103/143) by intention-to-treat, The efficacy between the treatments was statistically significant (p 0.01 and < 0.001) for analysis by intention to treat and by protocol, respectively. There was no difference between the therapeutic response with either treatment regardless of the Leishmania species responsible for infection. The side effects of meglumine antimoniate included myalgia, arthralgia, headache and fever. Regarding thermotherapy, the only side effect was pain at the lesion area four days after the initiation of treatment.ConclusionAlthough the efficacy rate of meglumine antimoniate was greater than that of thermotherapy for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis, the side effects were also greater. Those factors, added to the increased costs, the treatment adherence problems and the progressive lack of therapeutic response, make us consider thermotherapy as a first line treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Project description:Thermotherapy is an accepted alternative therapy for new-world cutaneous leishmaniasis, but current heat-delivery modalities are too costly to be made widely available to endemic populations. We adapted a low-cost heat pack named the HECT-CL device that delivers safe, reliable, and renewable conduction heat. 25 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis completed treatment with the device at an initial temperature of 52°C ± 2°C for 3 minutes to each lesion, repeated daily for 7 days, and were followed up for 6 months by direct observation. The overall definitive clinical cure rate was 60%. Concurrently, 13 patients meeting minimally significant exclusion criteria received identical compassionate use treatment with a cumulative definitive cure rate of 68.4%, 75% for those who had experienced CL relapse after prior antimonial treatment. Therapy was well tolerated. Reversible second-degree burns occurred in two patients and no bacterial super-infections were observed. HECT-CL is a promising treatment and deserves further study to verify its safety and efficacy as adjuvant and mono- therapy.
Project description:Miltefosine is an oral agent used for cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment. An open-label, randomized, phase III clinical trial was carried out in the Colombian army population. Miltefosine, 50 mg capsule was taken orally three times per day for 28 days (N = 145) or meglumine antimoniate, 20 mg/kg body weight per day for 20 days by intramuscular injection (N = 143). The efficacy of miltefosine by protocol was 69.8% (85/122 patients) and 58.6% (85/145 patients) by intention to treat. For meglumine antimoniate, the efficacy by protocol was 85.1% (103/121 patients) and 72% (103/143 patients) by intention to treat. No association was found between drug efficacy and L. (V.) braziliensis or L. (V.) panamensis species of Leishmania responsible for infection. Adverse gastrointestinal events were associated with the use of miltefosine, the meglumine antimoniate treatment was associated with adverse effects on the skeletal musculature, fever, cephalea, and higher toxicity in kidney, liver, pancreas, and hematological system.
Project description:IntroductionThe efficacy of thermotherapy for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis presents diverse results with low statistical power.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of thermotherapy to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis.MethodsA meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials in 12 databases based on the implementation of a research protocol with inclusion and exclusion criteria and an assessment of methodological quality. The reproducibility and completeness were guaranteed in the information search and extraction. Heterogeneity, sensitivity and publication bias were assessed by graphical methods (Galbraith, L'Abblé, funnel plot, Egger plot, and influence plot) and analytical methods (DerSimonian-Laird, Begg and Egger). Random-effects forest plots were constructed, and a cumulative meta-analysis was performed.ResultsEight studies were included with 622 patients who underwent thermotherapy, with an efficacy of 73.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 69.6-76.7%), and with 667 patients who underwent systemic treatment, with an efficacy of 70.6% (95% CI=67.1-74.1%). Heterogeneity between studies, good sensitivity for the combined measure, and no publication bias were observed. The relative risk for comparison of the efficacy of treatment was 1.02 (95%CI=0.91, 1.15), showing that the effectiveness of thermotherapy is equal to that of pentavalent antimonial drugs.ConclusionDue to its efficacy, greater safety and lower cost, thermotherapy should be the first treatment option for cutaneous leishmaniasis in areas where the prevalence of the mucocutaneous form is low and in patients with contraindications to systemic treatment, such as kidney, liver and heart diseases, as well as in pregnant women, infants, and patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Project description:BackgroundTo date, there is no specific literature available on the determinants for therapeutic failure (TF) with meglumine antimoniate (MA) in Northwestern-Argentina. This study aimed to identify epidemiological, clinical, and treatment-related factors that could be involved in TF.Methodology/principal findingsWe performed a case-control study. Cases were represented by patients who showed TF after administration of the first course of MA treatment, whereas, controls were determined as patients who evolved towards healing after the first MA cycle received. Crude Odds Ratios and their corresponding 90% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, and risk factors were then tested by multivariate analysis using logistic binary regression. Three hundred and eighty-four patients with a presumptive diagnosis of ACL were recruited, and 153 with a positive diagnosis were selected. We included in the study 71 patients, who underwent specific treatment with MA, presented complete data on response to treatment, and had a minimum post-treatment follow-up of 6 months in cutaneous leishmaniasis, and 12 months in mucosal leishmaniasis. Of these, 34 (47.9%) presented TF. In the initial analysis, TF was significantly associated with the geographical area of disease acquisition (p = 0.036), the presence of mucosal lesions (p = 0.042), the presence of concomitant skin and mucosal lesions (p = 0.002), and lesion age ≥ 6 months (p = 0.018). Risk factors influencing TF in the final multivariate model included the geographical area where the disease was acquired (adjusted Odd Ratio 8.062; 95% CI 1.914-33.959; p = 0.004), and lesion age ≥ 6 months (adjusted Odd Ratio 10.037; 95% CI 1.383-72.843; p = 0.023).Conclusions/significanceThe results of the present study suggest the existence of some risk factors linked to TF in Northwestern-Argentina, which deserve further investigation. Herein we recorded a high percentage of TF and we described clinical and epidemiological characteristics associated with TF that could be taken into account improving the clinical management of patients.
Project description:IntroductionLeishmaniasis is an important public health problem in the Americas. A Cochrane review published in 2009 analyzed 38 randomized controlled trials (RCT). We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effects of therapeutic interventions for American cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis.MethodsAll studies were extracted from PubMed, Embase, Lilacs (2009 to July, 2012 respectively), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (6-2012) and references of identified publications. RCTs' risk of bias was assessed.ResultsWe identified 1865 references of interest; we finally included 10 new RCTs. The risk of bias scored low or unclear for most domains. Miltefosine was not significantly different from meglumine antimoniate in the complete cure rate at 6 months (4 RCT; 584 participants; ITT; RR: 1.12; 95%CI: 0.85 to 1.47; I2 78%). However a significant difference in the rate of complete cure favoring miltefosine at 6 months was found in L. panamensis and L. guyanensis (2 RCTs, 206 participants; ITT; RR: 1.22; 95%CI: 1.02 to 1.46; I2 0%). One RCT found that meglumine antimoniate was superior to pentamidine in the rate of complete cure for L. braziliensis (80 participants, ITT; RR: 2.21; 95%CI: 1.41 to 3.49), while another RCT assessing L. guyanensis did not find any significant difference. Although meta-analysis of three studies found a significant difference in the rate of complete cure at 3 months favoring imiquimod versus placebo (134 participants; ITT; RR: 1.45; 95%CI: 1.12 to 1.88; I2 0%), no significant differences were found at 6 and 12 months. Thermotherapy and nitric oxide were not superior to meglumine antimoniate.ConclusionTherapeutic interventions for American cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis are varied and should be decided according to the context. Since mucosal disease is the more neglected form of leishmaniasis a multicentric trial should be urgently considered.
Project description:BackgroundAcre has reported the highest incidence of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in Brazil in recent years. The present study seeks to identify high and low risk agglomerations of ACL in space and space-time during the period from 2007 to 2013 in Acre, and also to characterize the occurrence of the disease in time and according to sociodemographic variables.MethodsThis is an ecological study, the study population of which consisted of autochthonous ACL cases notified in the municipalities of Acre by an epidemiological surveillance system. Scan statistics of SaTScan™ software were used to identify spatial and space-time clusters. In addition, the cases were characterized by sex, age, home situation (in a rural or urban area), and temporal tendency.ResultsAcre reported an incidence rate of 12.4 cases per 10 000 inhabitant-years in the study period, with the rates varied greatly (standard deviation of 21.8) among their 22 municipalities. One agglomeration of high risk and three of low risk were detected in space and space-time. Four of the five micro-regions of Acre presented a stationary temporal tendency. The profile of transmission varied according to the micro-region. Generally speaking, the disease occurred more often among young people, those of male gender, and those living in rural areas.ConclusionsAcre has stood out within the Brazilian national context due to its high rates of ACL incidence in the central region of the Acre Valley. The high rates in the micro-region of Brasiléia are related to the disease's intra/peridomiciliary occurrence, and it would seem that the municipality of Sena Madureira is approaching a transmission pattern similar to that of Brasiléia. In other micro-regions, the profile of the disease's transmission is mainly related to the forest/sylvatic cycle of ACL.
Project description:Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a neglected parasitic skin disease, is endemic in Pakistan, where Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major are the causative protozoan species. Standard treatment with antimonial injections is long, painful, and costly; has toxic side effects; and is not always available in public hospitals. Small pilot studies have previously evaluated a low-cost and noninvasive hand-held exothermic crystallization thermotherapy for cutaneous leishmaniasis (HECT-CL) device. We aimed to further establish the effectiveness, safety, and feasibility of HECT-CL in L. tropica. In a prospective observational study, patients with parasitological confirmation of CL were treated using the HECT-CL heat pack for 3 minutes with an initial temperature of 52-53°C for 7 consecutive days. Dried blood spot samples were taken for species identification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Effectiveness was assessed by using medical photographs and measurements of the lesion size at baseline and subsequent follow-up visits, for up to 180 days. We intended to enroll 317 patients. The HECT-CL treatment was easy to apply and well tolerated. Species identification demonstrated the presence of L. tropica. Interim analysis of 56 patients showed a failure rate of 91% at follow-up (median 45 days after treatment, interquartile range 30-60 days). Enrollment of patients was prematurely suspended because of futility. This study showed a high failure rate for HECT-CL thermotherapy in this setting. Leishmania tropica is known to be less sensitive to antileishmanial drugs, more temperature-resistant, and spontaneous healing is slower than that in L. major. More research is needed to identify low-cost, effective, and more patient-friendly treatment for L. tropica.
Project description:BackgroundAmerican cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is a complicated disease producing about 67.000 new cases per year. The severity of the disease depends on the parasite species; however in the vast majority of cases species confirmation is not feasible. WHO suggestion for ACL produced by Leishmania braziliensis, as first line treatment, are pentavalent antimonial derivatives (Glucantime or Sodium Stibogluconate) under systemic administration. According to different authors, pentavalent antimonial derivatives as treatment for ACL show a healing rate of about 75% and reasons for treatment failure are not well known.MethodsIn order to characterise the clinical and parasitological features of patients with ACL that did not respond to Glucantime, a cross-sectional observational study was carried out in a cohort of 43 patients recruited in three of the Colombian Army National reference centers for complicated ACL. Clinical and paraclinical examination, and epidemiological and geographic information were recorded for each patient. Parasitological, histopathological and PCR infection confirmation were performed. Glucantime IC50 and in vitro infectivity for the isolated parasites were estimated.ResultsPredominant infecting Leishmania species corresponds to L. braziliensis (95.4%) and 35% of the parasites isolated showed a significant decrease in in vitro Glucanatime susceptibility associated with previous administration of the medicament. Lesion size and in vitro infectivity of the parasite are negatively correlated with decline in Glucantime susceptibility (Spearman: r = (-)0,548 and r = (-)0,726; respectively).ConclusionA negative correlation between lesion size and parasite resistance is documented. L. braziliensis was found as the main parasite species associated to lesion of patients that underwent treatment failure or relapse. The indication of a second round of treatment in therapeutic failure of ACL, produced by L. braziliensis, with pentavalent antimonial derivatives is discussable.