Nodular lymphangitic subcutaneous dissemination after intralesional antimonial treatment for localized cutaneous leishmaniasis.

ABSTRACT

Human leishmaniases are protozoan diseases with diverse clinical features. They are transmitted by the bites of the Phlebotomus sand fly, and the reservoirs are usually wild and domestic animals, particularly dogs. In Spain, Leishmania infantum is the causative agent of both cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease occurring throughout the Americas and in the Old World, particularly the Middle East and North Africa. It is spread by the female sandfly. We report a 33-year-old man who presented with a solitary plaque on the right elbow, which was found to contain Leishmania bodies. He was treated with intralesional meglumine antimoniate, but 2 weeks later, several subcutaneous nodules were noted on the inner right arm. PCR identified the organism as L. infantum. The patient was treated with itraconazole (200 mg/day) for 6 weeks was prescribed, which resulted in marked clinical improvement in the elbow plaque. However, because of the persistence and lack of response of the other lesions, systemic treatment with meglumine antimoniate (20 mg/kg/day) intravenously for 7 days and intramuscularly for 13 days was administered. A progressive improvement in both cutaneous and subcutaneous lesions was achieved, and the lesions resolved completely after 2 months.