World Health Organization (WHO) antibiotic regimen against other regimens for the treatment of leprosy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the World Health Organization antibiotic regimen for the treatment of paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) leprosy compared to other available regimens. METHODS: We performed a search from 1982 to July 2018 without language restriction. We included randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized trials, and comparative observational studies (cohorts and case-control studies) that enrolled patients of any age with PB or MB leprosy that were treated with any of the leprosy antibiotic regimens established by the WHO in 1982 and used any other antimicrobial regimen as a controller. Primary efficacy outcomes included: complete clinical cure, clinical improvement of the lesions, relapse rate, treatment failure. Data were pooled using a random effects model to estimate the treatment effects reported as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: We found 25 eligible studies, 11 evaluated patients with paucibacillary leprosy, while 13 evaluated patients with MB leprosy and 1 evaluated patients of both groups. Diverse regimen treatments and outcomes were studied. Complete cure at 6 months of multidrug therapy (MDT) in comparison to rifampin-ofloxacin-minocycline (ROM) found RR of 1.06 (95% CI 0.88-1.27) in five studies. Whereas six studies compare the same outcome at different follow up periods between 6 months and 5 years, according to the analysis ROM was not better than MDT (RR of 1.01 (95% CI 0.78-1.31)) in PB leprosy. CONCLUSION: Not better treatment than the implemented by the WHO was found. Diverse outcome and treatment regimens were studied, more statements to standardized the measurements of outcomes are needed.

Subcutaneous mycoses in Peru: a systematic review and meta-analysis for the burden of disease.

BACKGROUND: There is a worrying lack of epidemiological data on the geographical distribution and burden of subcutaneous mycoses in Peru, hindering the implementation of surveillance and control programs. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to estimate the disease burden of subcutaneous mycoses in Peru and identify which fungal species were commonly associated with these mycoses. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis after a systematic review of the published literature in PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO to estimate the burden of subcutaneous mycoses in 25 regions in Peru. The disease burden was determined in terms of prevalence (number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and the number of reported cases per year per region. RESULTS: A total of 26 studies were eligible for inclusion. Results showed that sporotrichosis was the most common subcutaneous mycosis (99.7%), whereas lobomycosis, chromoblastomycosis, and subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis were rare. Cases of eumycetoma and subcutaneous zygomycosis were not found. Of the 25 regions, the burden of sporotrichosis was estimated for four regions classified as endemic; in nine regions, only isolated cases were reported. The highest burden of sporotrichosis was in Apurimac (15 cases/100,000 inhabitants; 57 cases/year), followed by Cajamarca (3/100,000 inhabitants; 30/year), Cusco (0.5/100,000 inhabitants; 4/year), and La Libertad (0.2/100,000 inhabitants; 2/year). In two regions, the mycoses predominantly affected children. CONCLUSIONS: Sporotrichosis is the most common subcutaneous mycosis in Peru, with a high disease burden in Apurimac. Chromoblastomycosis, lobomycosis, and subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis are rare mycoses in Peru.