Frequency of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Complete Ulcer Healing in Patients Referred to Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan, Iran from 2018 to 2019

Abstract

Introduction: Iran is one of the most important hot spots for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the world. To date, no studies have been done on both epidemiological aspects along with the length of the treatment course of CL. This study aimed to determine the relative frequency of CL in patients with suspected skin lesions and the duration of healing after treatment with different regimens. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with CL referred to the skin diseases and leishmaniasis research center (SDLRC) in Isfahan during the years 2018 to 2019. Among 389 patients with suspected skin lesions, 150 cases were included with proven CL. Information such as age, sex, education, location, size of the lesion, duration of treatment, and the rate of recovery were recorded. SPSS software version 20 was used for data analysis, the chi-square, Fisher´s Exact, and one Way ANOVA tests were used with a significant level of p < 0.05. Results: Among 350 admitted cases, 150 cases were CL. positive (42.85%). The rate of complete recovery was higher in cases with an average age of 33.55 ±18.9 years, but these differences were not statistically significant (P =0.077). There was 34 cases more than the other groups in this range of age. ( The rate of complete recovery in patients with a history of migration to endemic areas was higher than in patients without a history of migration (P = 0.81)). The rate of complete recovery in patients whose means treatment duration was 59.03 ± 41.43 days was higher than other recovery periods (P = 0.23). Conclusion: The rate of complete recovery was higher in adult cases than the other groups. In this study, it was proved that the rate of recovery of patients had the significant relationship with the average duration of treatment.

Keywords

• cutaneous leishmaniasis
• frequency
• ulcers healing.