Clinical Manifestations of Visceral Leishmaniasis (American Visceral Leishmaniasis)

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most severe form of leishmaniasis. It is endemic in tropical and subtropical countries and responsible for about 50,000 deaths annually. It is characterized by irregular fever, progressive pallor, spleen and liver growth, and consequent increase in abdominal volume, lymphadenopathy, anorexia, and weight loss. Some changes in epidermal structures can be observed such as dry, brittle and depigmented hair, while the eyelashes are long and silky, pale skin, and as the disease progresses may arise petechiae, ecchymosis, hemorrhagic suffusion, and sometimes jaundice. Edema appears very often, mainly in lower limbs. Hematologic changes are manifested by the reduction of all blood cells. Hypoalbuminemia is a frequent finding, while globulin increases. The patient suspected of having the disease is the one who has fever and splenomegaly. It is valuable to the diagnosis of epidemiological data, history of irregular fever, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and blood disorders such as pancytopenia and hypoalbuminemia. In the course of the disease, bacterial infections are established, especially in the respiratory tract, sometimes responsible for the death. VL is a consumptive disease that requires specific treatment as early as possible.

Assessment of Variation in Clinical Presentation of Visceral Leishmaniasis Among Patients Attending the Tropical Diseases Teaching Hospital in Sudan

“…Moreover, a majority of patients in our study presented with fever (90.2%), splenomegaly (72.3%), weight loss (53.3%), or hepatomegaly (39%). In a study conducted in Brazil and Mexico, the patients mainly presented with hepatomegaly (98%), splenomegaly (97.8%), or fever (97.7%) [17]. Moreover, we found that 4.6% of our patients were diagnosed with HIV.…”

“…In our study, RK39 was the most used diagnostic test; about 61% of our patients were diagnosed by it. RK39 is a widely used test because it is a simple, sensitive, specific, and economical test [17]. In this study, bone marrow aspiration and lymph node aspiration were done for 70 and 46 patients, respectively, and no patient had undergone splenic aspiration.…”

Antikinetoplastid Activity of Sesquiterpenes Isolated from the Zoanthid Palythoa aff. clavata

“…All the isolated sesquiterpenoids (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) were analyzed in a biological screening against the antikinetoplastid species: promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis, promastigotes of L. donovani and epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi. The results are summarized in Table 1.…”

“…Leishmaniasis occurs in three clinical forms depending on the location of the parasite in the tissues: visceral, cutaneous and mucocutaneous [5,6]. The most severe form is visceral leishmaniasis, characterized by fever, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and weight loss, which can be lethal [7]. Cutaneous leishmaniasis presents with skin lesions, the extent and appearance of which depend on the Leishmania species and the immune response of the host.…”

Chemical Constituents with Leishmanicidal Activity from a Pink-Yellow Cultivar of Lantana camara var. aculeata (L.) Collected in Central Mexico

“…The clinical manifestations of these diseases are diverse and depend on several factors such as the Leishmania species [ 2 ], the immunological [ 3 , 4 , 5 ] and nutritional [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ] status of the patient, and the biochemical composition of sandfly saliva [ 10 ]. These clinical characteristics can be summarized in three main groups: (1) cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) which, despite being the most common, is limited to the bite site and can heal spontaneously; (2) mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL), where the parasite migrates to mucosal tissue, mainly the nose, and destroys it [ 11 ]; (3) visceral leishmaniasis (VL), in which the parasite is lodged in the liver and spleen, where it causes an abnormal growth and organic failure and may be fatal if it is not treated opportunely [ 12 ]. This group of diseases spread to approximately 98 developing countries and it is estimated that about two million people are infected.…”