title: Childhood cutaneous leishmaniasis: report of 117 cases from Iran.
abstract: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), due to Leishmania major, is endemic in different parts of Iran and has long been recognized in most provinces of Iran. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of childhood leishmaniasis in 3 areas at the southeast of Kashan. A descriptive study was carried out on all children referred to central laboratories during a 3-year period. Initial information including age, sex, sites of ulcer on the body, number of lesions, address, and the place of the disease was obtained. The study gathered 117 children, and the results showed a prevalence of 7.2% in patients with lesions among the population and 4.2% of people displayed lesion and scar. The ages of subjects were from 6 to 15 years (average 9.75 years). The boy: girl ratio was 1.2. All of our patients lived in an endemic area. The face was affected in 47.0% of cases. The encountered forms of leishmaniasis are as follows: papulonodular 27.4%, ulcer 60.7%, sporotrichoid 6%, impetiginous 2.5%, and erysipeloid 3.4%. Treatment with intramuscular meglumine antimoniate 20-30 mg/kg/day was done for 93 patients. Meglumine antimoniate treatment was tolerated with no side effects. All leishmaniasis lesions healed within an average period of 2-14 months. Hyperpigmented scars were formed in 25.6% of the patients, atrophic scars in 4.3%, and hypopigmented scars were in 3.4%, respectively. The findings of this study indicate increased prevalence of CL in the villages at the area of Kashan and Aran-Bidgol. The clinical finding patterns belonged to different endemic strains of L. major in Isfahan, which indicates the possible transmission of infection from Isfahan to this area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. talariali@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Safar Ali
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Talari
authors.forename: Rezvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Talaei
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shajari
authors.forename: Zarichehr
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Vakili
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taghaviardakani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008536:Meglumine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077485:Meglumine Antimoniate; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D008536:Meglumine; D000077485:Meglumine Antimoniate