The Role of Intralesional Glucantime in Treating Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Lesions Complicated by Secondary Bacterial Infections
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31580/pjmls.v8i1.3238Keywords:
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, Glucantime, Secondary bacterial infectionsAbstract
Glucantime remains the primary treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). However, the growing concern over drug resistance has raised doubts about its effectiveness, especially in cases complicated by secondary infections. This study evaluates the efficacy of intralesional Glucantime in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions complicated by bacterial infections.
A total of 100 patients with confirmed CL were enrolled in the study. Lesion samples were collected, cultured on various agar media, and identified through biochemical tests. Based on the culture results, patients were divided into two groups: culture-positive and culture-negative. The culture-positive group refers to patients with bacterial infections identified through positive culture results, while the culture-negative group refers to patients whose lesion cultures did not show bacterial growth. Both groups received intralesional Glucantime therapy and were monitored until the lesions healed completely.
Of the 100 patients, 53 (53%) tested culture-positive, with Staphylococcus aureus being the predominant bacterial isolate. Among these, 20 patients (37.7%) exhibited a complete response to the treatment, while 33 patients (62.3%) showed a poor response. In contrast, 47 patients (47%) in the culture-negative group demonstrated a higher rate of complete response, with 34 patients (72%) fully recovered and 13 (28%) showing a poor response.
This study highlights that the presence of bacterial colonization in leishmaniasis lesions significantly diminishes the therapeutic efficacy of Glucantime. These findings emphasize the need to address secondary bacterial infections in the management of CL.
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