New posology of potassium iodide for the treatment of cutaneous sporotrichosis: study of efficacy and safety in 102 patients.

BACKGROUND: The first therapeutic choice for the treatment of cutaneous sporotrichosis is oral itraconazole; however, the increase in cases of zoonotic transmission outbreak necessitates a search for effective and safe treatment alternatives. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a new potassium iodide (KI) posology as an alternative for the treatment of limited cutaneous forms of sporotrichosis. METHODS: One hundred and two patients with sporotrichosis diagnosed by isolation of Sporothrix sp. were included and were divided into 2 groups that received different doses of KI: group A received the conventional dose, and group B received the reduced dose. The cure criteria were based on clinical and serological data. RESULTS: Seventy-nine patients (77.4%) reached clinical cure: 70.6% and 84.3% of groups A and B respectively. Sixteen patients (15.6%) were lost during follow-up, and seven changed drug therapy: five in group A and two in group B. The incidence of adverse events was similar for both groups (64.7%): predominantly metallic taste (44%), followed by mild gastrointestinal intolerance and acneiform eruption (10.7% each). No serious adverse events occurred, and there were no recurrences. Analysis of the results showed no statistically significant difference between groups (P = 0.9255). The improvement in serologic titres was significant in both treatment groups. CONCLUSION: Through statistical analysis, the usual posology was not shown to be superior to the one proposed in this study. Serology for sporotrichosis may be used as a valuable tool in the clinical monitoring of these patients.