For L. braziliensis, oral pentoxifylline plus intravenous SSG seems to be more efficacious than intravenous SSG alone, and intravenous MA was superior to intramuscular paromomycin sulfate and IV pentamidine. Likewise, intramuscular MA was shown to be better than the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine. For L. panamensis, oral ketoconazole, oral miltefosine, and topical paromomycin + 12% methylbenzethonium chloride were shown to be superior to placebo.There is no strong evidence for the efficacy of surgery, oral itraconazole and fluconazole, oral antibiotics (rifampicin, metronidazole, cotrimoxazole), intravenous or topical amphotericin B, oral dapsone, photodynamic therapy, promoting healing therapies, laser, or cryotherapy treatments. Old World cutaneous leishmaniasis
Similar to ACML, the treatment recommendations for Old World cutaneous leishmaniasis (OWCL) are uncertain due to the variability of and inconsistencies within the research.Most studies done to assess treatments of OWCL included two species of parasites, Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica. The most well-studied treatments for OWCL are oral itraconazole and topical paromomycin.Patients treated with oral itraconazole for an average of 2.5 months had a higher cure rate compared to placebo, but they also had a higher rate of side effects, including gastrointestinal complaints, abnormal liver function, headaches, and dizziness.Patients treated with topical paromomycin showed no difference in cure rate compared to placebo, but patients treated with paromomycin had a higher rate of adverse skin reactions.The treatments for other Leishmania species responsible for OWCL, such as L. infantum, L. aethiopica, and L. donovani, have not been thoroughly studied.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is the most common form of leishmaniasis affecting humans. It is a skin infection caused by a single-celled parasite that is transmitted by the bite of a phlebotomine sand fly. There are about thirty species of Leishmania that may cause cutaneous leishmaniasis. This disease is considered to be a zoonosis (an infectious disease that is naturally transmissible from animals to humans), with the exception of Leishmania tropica — which is often an anthroponotic disease (an infectious disease that is naturally transmissible from humans to vertebrate animals). Signs and symptoms
Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a recurrence of kala-azar that may appear on the skin of affected individuals months and up to 20 years after being partially treated, untreated or even in those considered adequately treated. In Sudan, they can be demonstrated in up to 60% of treated cases. They manifest as hypopigmented skin lesions (such as macules, papules, nodules), or facial redness. Though any organism causing kala-azar can lead to PKDL, it is commonly associated with Leishmania donovani which gives different disease patterns in India and Sudan. In the Indian variant, nodules enlarge with time and form plaques but rarely ulcerate, but nodules from the African variety often ulcerate as they progress. Nerve involvement is common in African variety but rare in Indian subcontinent. Histology demonstrates a mixture of chronic inflammatory cells; there can be macrophage or epitheloid granuloma.