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Pediatric Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Turkey: A Retrospective Analysis of 8047 Cases
Abdullah Solmaz, İsa An1, Ufuk Acar
1İsa An, MD, Sanlıurfa Training and Research Hospital, Eyyubiye, Şanlıurfa, Turkey; is_an89@hotmail.com.
Insights
Pediatric cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) shows varied clinical features across age groups. Older children (13-18) had more lesions and higher recurrence rates, while younger children (0-5) experienced longer disease duration.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a significant health concern in pediatric populations.
- Limited studies focus on the specific clinical and epidemiological profiles of pediatric CL (PCL).
- Understanding PCL characteristics is crucial for effective management and public health strategies in endemic regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric subjects diagnosed with CL.
- To compare these characteristics across different pediatric age groups (0-6, 7-12, and 13-18 years).
- To analyze treatment modalities and their impact on lesion characteristics in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study including 8047 pediatric patients diagnosed with CL between 2010 and 2021.
- Data collected included age, gender, lesion characteristics (number, size, duration, location, type), and treatment administered.
- Patients were stratified into three age groups for comparative analysis.
Main Results:
- The 13-18 age group had the highest number of PCL cases.
- The 0-5 age group exhibited the longest disease duration, while the 6-12 age group had smaller, fewer lesions.
- Systemic antimony therapy was associated with larger, longer-lasting, and more numerous lesions compared to intralesional therapy.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric CL presents distinct clinico-epidemiological features varying by age group.
- The 13-18 age group showed a higher prevalence of nodular, ulcerated, and recurrent lesions.
- Treatment outcomes suggest intralesional antimony therapy may be preferred for certain lesion types in pediatric patients.
Abstract:
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is common in the pediatric population, but there are only a limited number of studies focused on the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients in this age group. In this study, our objective was to investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric subjects diagnosed with CL. A total of 8047 patients who had been diagnosed with CL between 2010 and 2021 in an endemic region were included in this retrospective study. The clinical and demographic characteristics such as age, gender, number, size, duration, location, and type of lesions and the administered CL treatments were recorded. In order to better understand the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with pediatric CL (PCL), the study patients were divided into three groups according to their age (0-6, 7-12, and 13-18 years) and the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of these groups were compared. When patients with PCL were compared according to age groups, it was found that the highest number of patients were in the 13-18 age group. It was determined that the patients in the 6-12 age group had fewer lesions, that and the size of the lesions was smaller than the other groups. The disease duration was the longest in the 0-5 age group. The highest rate of nodular, ulcerated, and recurrent lesions was in the 13-18 age group, and the highest rate of papular lesions was in the 6-12 age group. Systemic pentavalent antimony therapy (IM or IV) was administered to 438 patients with PCL (5.44%), while intralesional pentavalent antimony therapy (IL) was administered to 7447 patients (92.54%). Patients receiving systemic therapy had larger lesions compared with patients receiving IL therapy and no treatment. The lesion duration was longer in patients who received systemic treatment, and the number of lesions was higher than those who received IL treatment. The highest rate of systemic treatment was in the 13-18 age group (43.8%). In conclusion, our study found that the intragroup comparison of the age group with the highest CL rate displayed similar clinico-epidemiological characteristics reported in previous studies conducted in the same region.
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