Visceral leishmaniasis during pregnancy treated with meglumine antimoniate

Data on the efficacy and safety of pentavalent antimony in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis during pregnancy are scanty. A case of visceral leishmaniasis in a 39-year-old woman in the second trimester of pregnancy is reported here. The patient was hospitalized in poor condition with high fever and pancytopenia which had lasted for 6 weeks. A bone marrow aspirate revealed numerous amastigotes and serodiagnosis for Leishmania was positive at a high titer. The patient was successfully treated with meglumine antimoniate at a daily dose of 850 mg of antimony for 20 days. She delivered at term a healthy female baby who remains in good condition at 18 months of age. Thus a dose of 850 mg of antimony, which is lower than that presently recommended, seems to be effective and non toxic to the fetus when administered at the second trimester of pregnancy.