G. Harms, A. Chehade, M. Douba
Mar 1, 1991
Citations
0
Influential Citations
42
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Abstract
In a randomized prospective trial n-methyl-glucamine antimoniate (Glucantime®) and human recombinant interferon-γ were infiltrated around lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica in Syria. A previous trial had shown that intradermal application of interferon-γ promoted the healing of similar lesions in the study area. Twenty patients with 38 lesions received 1–3 ml Glucantime® and 20 patients with 37 lesions received 25 μg of interferon-γ intradermally once weekly for 5 consecutive weeks. While all lesions treated with Glucantime® were free of parasites after the third injection, only 69% of those treated with interferon-γ were parasitologically cured by week 10. Within 10 weeks, lesions treated with Glucantime® healed completely in 2938, and partially in 938, cases, whereas 137 and 1337 lesions treated with interferon-γ healed completely and partially, respectively. Perilesional application of Glucantime® was highly effective and superior to interferon-γ for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. tropica.