Leishmaniasis in patients with chronic renal failure: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the clinician.
BACKGROUND
The role of leishmaniasis in dialyzed or transplanted patients for chronic renal failure is generally neglected. In this study, the authors present a series of three cases of leishmaniasis (one visceral, one mucous and one muco-visceral) in patients with end-stage renal failure characterized by an atypical presentation and/or resistance to therapy.


METHODS
Two patients had an atypical infection: the first patient demonstrated a mucosal form, while the second had visceral and mucosal involvement. These two presentations are very rare and, to the best of our knowledge, other autoctonous disease cases have never been described in Italy. In the first patient, a cycle of oral itraconazole was scarcely effective and poorly tolerated, while treatment with 15% topical paromomycin sulfate was successful. Patients two and three failed to respond to meglumine antimonate and amphotericin B lipid complex. A second cycle with liposomal amphotericin B was effective in both cases. In addition, a superior safety profile for liposomal amphotericin B in comparison with the lipid complex amphotericin B was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
These three cases highlight the problem of leishmaniasis in both renal transplanted and dialyzed patients and suggest that this infection could be far from infrequent in addition to being resistant to therapies. Leishmaniasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of fevers of unknown origin and mucosal lesions in these patients, even in countries not at risk for mucosal leishmaniasis.
Maggi
Paolo
P
Clinic for Infectious Diseases, University of Bari, Bari, Italy. p_maggi@yahoo.com
Gaudiano
Vito
V
Valente
Marina
M
Latorraca
Angela
A
Cavaliere
Rocco L
RL
Marroni
Massimo
M
Larocca
Angela M V
AM
Stagni
Giuliano
G
Lopez
Teodoro
T
Pastore
Giuseppe
G
D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001706:Biopsy; D001856:Bone Marrow Examination; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D000666:Amphotericin B