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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 91, Num. 2, 1996, pp. 207-209
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Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 91(1),
Mar/Apr 1996
High and Low Doses of Antimony (Sb^v) in American Cutaneous
Leishmaniasis. A Five Years Follow-up Study of 15 Patients
MP Oliveira-Neto^+, A Schubach, ML Araujo*, C Pirmez
Hospital Evandro Chagas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Brasil 4365,
21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil *Hospital de Bonsucesso,
Instituto Nacional de Assistencia Medica da Previdencia Social,
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
Code Number: OC96041
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[TABLE AT END OF TEXT]
Seventeen patients proceeding from the municipality of Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil presenting with the cutaneous ulcerative form
of American leishmaniasis were treated with one ampoule of
pentavalent antimony daily for 30 days. With this regimen the
individuals doses varies greatly: from 3.8 mg/kg of body weight
to 22.3 mg/kg. After five years, patients receiving either a
smaller dose or a bigger one, showed the same therapeutic result:
cutaneous scars and no mucosal lesions.
Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis induced by Leishmania
(Viannia) braziliensis (L.b.) complex is imperative
in order to prevent the possibility of desfiguring mucosal
lesions. Although spontaneous healing of cutaneous lesions do
occur, this may take from months to many years. Spontaneous
healing is well documented in Brazil (Marsden et al. 1984, Costa
et al. 1987) the minimal time of healing being 6 months.
Pentavalent antimonial compounds are the mainstay of therapy that
has been used for more than 60 years but the best dosage has not
yet been fully identified. Several therapeutic regimens have been
proposed by many authors. During many years in our Hospital,
treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis was performed with one
ampoule of meglumine antimoniate irrespective of body weight, for
at least 25 days. Each ampoule contains 425 mg of Sb^5+ in a 5
ml solution. With this regimen the individual dose of antimony
shows a considerable variation.
In 1982, as soon as we assumed the leishmaniasis sector of the
Hospital, we decided to investigate more deeply this therapeutic
approach. We studied 17 patients disclosed during one of our
usual active searches in the endemic areas of the suburbs of the
city of Rio de Janeiro. The patients were treated at the Evandro
Chagas Hospital, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation with one ampoule of
meglumine antimoniate per day for 30 consecutive days. The
individual doses of antimony according to body weight varied from
3.8 mg/kg to 22.3 mg/kg. Five years later, 15 of these patients
were reviewed. All of them presented with cicatricial cutaneous
lesions and normal findings on examination of upper respiratory
tract mucosa, suggesting the same therapeutic result with either
high or low doses of antimony.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seventeen patients with active cutaneous leishmaniasis were
studied. All cases were from the suburb of Campo Grande, an
endemic area of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Diagnosis was
established by means of clinical, parasitological (smears and
biopsies) and immunological (Montenegro s test and indirect
immunofluorescent test) criteria.
Clinical examination - A complete clinical examination
was performed including clinical history, dermatological
examination and a search for mucosal lesions by means of anterior
rhynoscopy and direct examination of oropharynx with a frontal
light and tongue depressor. The area of dermatological lesions
was determined according to formula D1 x D2 x pi/4 where D1 is
the bigger and D2 the smaller diameter.
Montenegro skin test - Parasite antigens (leishmanin)
containing 40 ug of protein nitrogen per ml was obtained from
Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas
Gerais, Brazil. A reaction of equal or greater than 5 mm after
48 hr was considered positive.
Serological test - An indirect immunofluorescent test
was used to detect specific Leishmania antibodies (Camargo
& Rebonato 1969).
Biopsies - Incisional skin biopsy specimens from the
border of the active lesion was performed after local anesthesia
with Xylocaine 2%. The specimen was divided into two fragments:
one was cultivated in an enriched blood agar medium (NNN) and the
other was fixed in 10% buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin
to perform a histopathological examination. Before fixing, an in-
print was performed and stained with Giemsa.
Therapy - Patients were submitted to pentavalent
antimony therapy with N-methyl glucamine (Glucantime, Rhodia, S o
Paulo, Brazil). Each patient received a daily intramuscular
injection of one ampoule of the drug for 30 consecutive days.
Each ampoule of 5ml provides 425 mg of Sb^5+. With this regimen
the individual dose of pentavalent antimony according to the body
weight varies from 3.8 mg to 22.3 mg (Table).
RESULTS
Of the 17 patients, 9 were male and 8 female. Ages varied from
4 years to 59 years old. Duration of lesions varied from 27 to
103 days, with a mean duration of two and a half months. The 17
patients showed a total of 24 lesions: 12 patients with single
lesions, 3 patients with two lesions and 2 patients with three
lesions. All lesions were of the ulcerative type and the areas
varied from 1.19 cm^2, the smallest one, to 10.80 cm^2 the
biggest one. The legs were affected 10 times (42%), the arms 7
times (29%), the face 5 times (21%) and the trunk 2 times (8%).
Montenegro's test was positive in all patients and the
immunofluorescent test positive in only 7 patients. Parasite
demonstration was positive with at least one of the 3 methods
employed (in-prints, histological examination and culture) in all
patients. The legs showed both: the largest lesions and the more
prolonged time of healing, clearly not related with individual
doses of antimony: patient number 4 had an area lesion of 10.80
cm^2, the biggest one, and received a dose of 12.5 mg/kg; patient
number 16 whose lesion measured 9.76 cm^2 received a dose of 4.7
mg/kg. Both patients healed in 58 and 53 days respectively. Mean
time of cure in all patients was 43 days.
Follow-up studies - In about two months after therapy,
all patients presented healed lesions. Five years later, 15 of
these patients were reviewed. At that time, clinical
dermatological and otolaryn-gological examination disclosed
cicatricial cutaneous lesions and no mucosal lesions in all
patients. Montenegro s test was again positive and
immunofluorescence negative in all patients.
DISCUSSION
The drug of choice for leishmanial disease is pentavalent
antimony, but the important question about the more effective
dosage has not been yet clearly determined. The initially
proposed schedules were the same that were used somewhat
empirically for the treatment of visceral leihmaniasis in China,
India and East Africa during World War II (Tuckman 1949, Sen
Gupta 1953, Manson-Bahr & Heisch 1956). This recommended schedule
was of 600 mg of Sb^v per day during 10 days and at equal
intervals another 10 days series could be added. Pentavalent
antimony is rapidly excreted (Rees et al. 1980, Sampaio et al.
1980, Chulay et al. 1988) resulting in sub-therapeutic blood
levels in a few hours (Oster et al. 1985) and so such rest
periods are regarded as pharmacologically unsound. Chulay et al.
(1988) exposed the view point that treatment with pentavalent
antimony depends on maintenance of a inhibitory drug
concentration for most of the day. The same author (Chulay et al.
1983) however, have established that treatment of visceral
leishmaniasis with sodium stibogluconate at a dose of 10 mg/kg
every 8 hr for 10 days showed to be equally effective as 10mg/kg
once a day for 30 days. For cutaneous disease the dose of 10 to
20 mg/kg/day during at least 3 weeks is recommended by WHO in
cases of L. b. infections. The same dose is also
recommended for cutaneous leishmaniasis by the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Herwaldt &
Berman 1992). In Brazil a dose of 20 mg/kg/day for 30 days is
recommended in cutaneous cases by some authors (Marsden 1983).
According to Berman (1988) the time for spontaneous healing in
cutaneous leishmaniasis varies from a month to a few years.
Therefore, for a therapeutical agent to be considered active,
this agent must produce a cure in a very high percentage of
patients in a very short period, about 2 months. Both conditions
were found in our patients since all of them cured in a short
period.
With the schedule employed in our observation the mean dose was
9.5 mg/kg, very close to the dose recommended by WHO. However we
have had patients receiving doses larger than 20 mg/kg, as well
as patients with a dose lower than 10 mg/kg.
Management of American cutaneous leishmaniasis must achieve two
goals: healing of cutaneous lesions and prevention of later
mucosal involvement. Mucosal lesions are not frequent in Rio de
Janeiro. In 479 cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis
observed in our Service of Evandro Chagas Hospital from 1987 to
1994, only 16 (3.3%) were mucosal cases proceeding from periphery
of Rio de Janeiro city. Mendonca et al. (1988) working in
Jacarepagua, another endemic area of the state, estimate a
frequency of 2% of mucosal cases. Nevertheless, the only species
of Leishmania until now identified in this region of
Brazil is L.b. (Grimaldi et al. 1989) and so, to the
actual level of our knowledge, the risk of mucosal involvement
is to be considered. Our observation suggests that a low dose of
Sb^v may be equally effective than a higher one, both dosages
achieving the goals after a five years follow-up. This time of
follow-up seems to be sufficient since some studies indicate that
in two years the great majority of patients who would develop
mucosal disease have clinical evidence of this type of metastasis
(Marsden et al. 1984 a,b). We think that with the clinical
presentation usually seen in Rio de Janeiro, namely: few or -
more frequently - single cutaneous lesions, a short evolution
time of illness, small number of parasites in lesions and a good
immune response, a low dose could be effective. To try and
develop a more suitable regimen for outpatient treatment we
intend to investigate the therapeutical effect of a low antimony
dose in a greater number of patients.
REFERENCES
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mechanisms, clinical efficacy and future strategies. Rev Infec
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^+Corresponding author.
Received 9 June 1995
Accepted 1 December 1995
TABLE
Dose of Sb^v per kg of body weight
Patient Body weight Dose
No. (kg) (mg/kg of Sb^v)
-----------------------------------
1 19 22.3
2 21 20.2
3 24 17.7
4 34 12.5
5 37 11.4
6 48 8.8
7 52 8.1
8 56 7.5
9 58 7.3
10 61 6.9
11 63 6.7
12 64 6.6
13 65 6.5
14 67 6.3
15 78 5.4
16 89 4.7
17 109 3.8
Note: only 15 patients were available for the 5 years' follow-
up.
Copyright 1996 Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
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