Clinical features and therapeutic response in adult and pediatric patients with American tegumentary leishmaniasis in Rio de Janeiro

Background: American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is a neglected disease with wide territorial distribution. Knowledge is scarce in children and adolescents. This study aims to compare the clinical features and response to antimony treatment in pediatric and adult patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed with 659 patients who attended a reference centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 2000 to 2015. The pediatric cohort consisted of 131 (20%) patients and the adult cohort consisted of 528 (80%) patients.

Results: The epidemiological profile, antimony therapeutic response and incidence of adverse events (AE) were different in the pediatric cohort compared with the adult cohort. Mucosal form was less frequent in the pediatric cohort (RR:0.49, p=0.011). Lesions in the head, neck and trunk were more frequent in the pediatric cohort (RR:1.49, p=0.043). The effectiveness of antimony treatment was superior in the pediatric cohort (88.3% vs 76.6%) with a shorter healing time (RR:0.49, p=0.009). Pediatric patients had lower proportions of moderate to severe AE compared with adults (RR:0.45, p=0.027). Clinical AE predominated in the adult cohort (RR:0.40, p=0.000) and laboratory AE in the pediatric cohort (RR:1.50, p=0.023).

Conclusions: This study adds to the body of knowledge on differences that exist between different age groups in ATL.