title: Pediatric visceral leishmaniasis in Western Sicily, Italy: a retrospective analysis of 111 cases.
abstract: The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of 111 consecutive cases of visceral leishmaniasis identified from 1980 to 2000 in a Sicilian pediatric hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The mean age of the patients was 1.7 years. All children were HIV negative, but 15% were severely malnourished. Fever and splenomegaly were present in all cases and hepatomegaly in 101 (90.1%) cases. Thrombocytopenia and anemia were both observed in 78 (70.2%) cases and leukopenia in 47 (42.3%) cases. A bone marrow aspirate was obtained in all cases; Leishmania amastigotes were detected in 89 (80.2%) cases. Initial treatment consisted of meglumine antimoniate in 99 (89.2%) patients and amphotericin B in 12 (10.8%) patients. Only two children treated with meglumine antimoniate relapsed. The findings highlight the differences between the cases of visceral leishmaniasis observed in the Mediterranean basin and those observed in other regions. The use of the term "Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis", rather than the term "kala-azar", is proposed for cases observed in the Mediterranean area.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Patologia Infettiva e Virologia, Ospedale "G. Di Cristina", Universitatà di Palermo, Piazza Moatalto 8, 90134 Palermo, Italy. acascio@unime.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cascio
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colomba
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antinori
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orobello
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Titone
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007891:Leishmania / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008536:Meglumine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077485:Meglumine Antimoniate; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000150:complications; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012802:Sicily / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D008536:Meglumine; D000077485:Meglumine Antimoniate; D000666:Amphotericin B