Oral zinc sulphate in the treatment of acute cutaneous leishmaniasis.
A clinical trial to evaluate the efficiency of oral zinc sulphate in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis was conducted. One-hundred and four patients with parasitologically proven cutaneous leishmaniasis were included in the trial. Patients were assigned randomly to receive 2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg of zinc sulphate orally, and a control group of patients did not receive any treatment. All patients were followed up for 45 days. At the end of the follow-up period, lesions were assessed and parasitological proof of cure or otherwise was sought. Results showed that the cure rate for the 2.5 mg/kg group was 83.9%, for the 5 mg/kg treatment group it was 93.1% and for the 10 mg/kg treatment group it was 96.9%. No lesions in the control group showed any sign of healing during the follow-up period. Therefore, oral zinc sulphate can be recommended as a very safe therapy for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
K E
KE
Sharquie
R A
RA
Najim
I B
IB
Farjou
D J
DJ
Al-Timimi
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001252:Astringents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing; D019287:Zinc Sulfate / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D001252:Astringents; D019287:Zinc Sulfate