The Skin Side Effects of Topical Glucantime in Patients with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in many parts of Iran and is discussed as a health issue. Although it has spontaneously remitting course, but the treatment is often recommended to shorten the duration of illness and limit the size of the scar. First-line therapy is topical or systemic glucantime; but because of its serious complications, it is attempted to find better drugs with fewer side effects. This study aimed to assess the skin reactions in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with topical glucantime. This prospective cohort study was performed on all patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with topical glucantime and referred to the Skin and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan, in 2010-2011. Skin side effects caused by this type of the treatment were analyzed. 130 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with topical glucantime were studied. The mean age of the patients was 16.38 ± 23.97 years. In 38.5 percent of patients, skin side effects were observed that were mainly maculopapuler rashs with pruritic (12.3 percent). The mean duration of treatment initiation until the appearance of skin side effects was 12.66 ± 20.98 days. There was no significant relationship between the clinical type and the site of the lesions and the appearance of skin side effects (P > 0.05). Skin side effects were mainly maculopapuler rashes with pruritic in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with topical glucantime. According to skin side effects induced by topical glucantime, importance and necessity of the injection method and the use of adjuvant therapy is emphasized according to indications of topical treatment of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis.