Mucosal leishmaniasis: A forgotten disease, description and identification of species in 50 Colombian cases

Sandra Muvdi-Arenas, Clemencia Ovalle-Bracho, .

Keywords: Leishmania, leishmaniasis, mucocutaneous, molecular typing, polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

Introduction: Mucosal leishmaniasis has a progressive course and can cause deformity and even mutilation in the affected areas. It is endemic in the American continent and it is mainly caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis.
Objective: To describe a series of mucosal leishmaniasis cases and the infectious Leishmania species.
Materials and methods: We included 50 patients with a clinical diagnosis of mucosal leishmaniasis and parasitological confirmation, and we described their clinical and laboratory results. We performed species typing by PCR-RFLP using the miniexon sequence and hsp70 genes; confirmation was done by sequencing.
Results: The median time of disease evolution was 2.9 years (range: 1 month to 16 years). The relevant clinical findings included mucosal infiltration (94%), cutaneous leishmaniasis scar (74%), total loss of the nasal septum (24%), nasal deformity (22%), and mucosal ulceration (38%). The symptoms reported included nasal obstruction (90%), epistaxis (72%), rhinorrhea (72%), dysphonia (28%), dysphagia (18%), and nasal pruritus (34%). The histopathological study revealed a pattern compatible with leishmaniasis in 86% of the biopsies, and amastigotes were identified in 14% of them. The Montenegro skin test was positive in 86% of patients, immunofluorescence in 84%, and culture in 8%. Leishmania (V.) braziliensis was identified in 88% of the samples, L. (V) panamensis in 8%, and L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (L.) amazonensis in 2% respectively.
Conclusion: In this study, we found a severe nasal disease with destruction and deformity of the nasal septum in 25% of the cases, probably associated with late diagnosis. Leishmania (V.) braziliensis was the predominant species. We described a case of mucosal leishmaniasis in Colombia caused by L. (L.) amazonensis for the first time.

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  • Sandra Muvdi-Arenas Centro Dermatológico Federico Lleras Acosta, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Clemencia Ovalle-Bracho Centro Dermatológico Federico Lleras Acosta, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3448-5873

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How to Cite
1.
Muvdi-Arenas S, Ovalle-Bracho C. Mucosal leishmaniasis: A forgotten disease, description and identification of species in 50 Colombian cases. biomedica [Internet]. 2019 Aug. 1 [cited 2024 May 11];39(Supl. 2):58-65. Available from: https://revistabiomedica.org/index.php/biomedica/article/view/4347

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Published
2019-08-01

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