N-methylglucamine antimonate (SbV+): intralesional canine tegumentary leishmaniasis therapy

Twenty five adult dogs of three municipalities of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that had been naturally infected by L. (V) braziliensis were treated with N-methylglucamine antimonate (Glucantime). Nine of the animals (36.0%) presented ulcerated skin lesions, twelve (48.0%) had mucosal lesions and four (16.0%) had multiple lesions. In some cases the mucosal lesions were associated to skin lesions. A dose of 85 mg SbV+ or 1 ml of the drug was intralesionally administered to the dogs. The animals were divided into three groups according to the amount of necessary doses (between one and three) for the complete healing of the lesions. The dogs were observed for six months after the third group received the last dose. Within this period two animals perished. Serial antibody evaluation through IFAT has shown that in 14 samples (63.3%) the titers have remained unaltered, in four of them (16%) there has been a decrease in two titers and in five of them (21%) serology was negative. Nineteen of the dogs (86.6%) had their lesions completely healed. The authors suggest intralesional therapy be the first choice of treatment of canine tegumentary leishmaniasis due to its effectiveness.