Mucosal Leishmaniasis - Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects of 234 Cases Treated in a Tertiary Reference Center in the Brazilian Amazon | OMICS International

Presented here is a retrospective study including patients of the Brazilian Amazon region who were diagnosed with mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) and treated in a tertiary referral center between July 1992 to December 2008. In total, 234 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There was a clear predominance of males, comprising 193 (82.5%) cases, and the mean age was 48 years. No fewer than 186 (79.5%) patients had undertaken activities that are considered to place one at risk of acquiring American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) – agriculture, animal raising, or mineral extraction. Furthermore, 193 (82.5%) presented with a prior history of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL); the average time between the onset of CL and the first symptoms of ML in 138 cases was 16.3 years. Finally, 156 cases (66.7%) were located in municipalities that lie on the south bank of the Amazon River, suggesting that Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis was the likely etiological agent in these cases