BACKGROUND: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an emerging zoonosis, and Brazil harbors about 90% of those infected in Latin America. Since 1998, the disease has been spreading quickly in São Paulo state, and the western region is considered an emerging focus of VL in Brazil. Our aim was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and spatial distribution of VL in children referred to a public tertiary hospital located in the western region of São Paulo state, Brazil. METHODS: Medical records of children up to 18 years of age who were diagnosed with VL between January 2006 and December 2010 were reviewed. Geospatial analysis was performed using the ArcGIS 10.2 platform. RESULTS: Sixty-three patients were enrolled in the study; the median age was 3.3 ± 3.3 years. The median time interval between the onset of clinical symptoms and diagnosis was 16.1 ± 11.1 days, and the median time in the pediatric ward was 18.0 ± 9.4 days. Liposomal amphotericin B was the first-line treatment in 90.5% of the patients and 9.6% relapsed. One patient died (1.6%), and 19% were submitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. CONCLUSION: The short interval between the onset of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment and the reduced number of days of hospitalization certainly influenced the small number of deaths, relapses, and severity among the children infected with VL. However, the disease is spreading fast in the western region of São Paulo state. Thus, integrated actions and effective monitoring of the disease are needed to complement curative practices.
BACKGROUND:Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an emerging zoonosis, and Brazil harbors about 90% of those infected in Latin America. Since 1998, the disease has been spreading quickly in São Paulo state, and the western region is considered an emerging focus of VL in Brazil. Our aim was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and spatial distribution of VL in children referred to a public tertiary hospital located in the western region of São Paulo state, Brazil. METHODS: Medical records of children up to 18 years of age who were diagnosed with VL between January 2006 and December 2010 were reviewed. Geospatial analysis was performed using the ArcGIS 10.2 platform. RESULTS: Sixty-three patients were enrolled in the study; the median age was 3.3 ± 3.3 years. The median time interval between the onset of clinical symptoms and diagnosis was 16.1 ± 11.1 days, and the median time in the pediatric ward was 18.0 ± 9.4 days. Liposomal amphotericin B was the first-line treatment in 90.5% of the patients and 9.6% relapsed. One patient died (1.6%), and 19% were submitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. CONCLUSION: The short interval between the onset of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment and the reduced number of days of hospitalization certainly influenced the small number of deaths, relapses, and severity among the children infected with VL. However, the disease is spreading fast in the western region of São Paulo state. Thus, integrated actions and effective monitoring of the disease are needed to complement curative practices.
Authors: Marleen Boelaert; Suman Rijal; Sudhir Regmi; Rupa Singh; Balmansingh Karki; Diane Jacquet; François Chappuis; Lenea Campino; Philippe Desjeux; Dominique Le Ray; Shekhar Koirala; Patrick Van der Stuyft Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2004-01 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: Antonio Rafael da Silva; Pedro Luiz Tauil; Maria Neuza Souza Cavalcante; Maria Nilza Medeiros; Benedito Nascimento Pires; Eloísa da Graça do Rosário Gonçalves Journal: Rev Soc Bras Med Trop Date: 2008 Jul-Aug Impact factor: 1.581
Authors: Alexandre Sérgio da Costa Braga; Antonio Carlos de Castro Toledo Junior; Ana Rabello Journal: Rev Soc Bras Med Trop Date: 2013 Jan-Feb Impact factor: 1.581
Authors: João Gabriel Guimarães Luz; Amanda Gabriela de Carvalho; Danilo Bueno Naves; João Victor Leite Dias; Cor Jesus Fernandes Fontes Journal: Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz Date: 2019-10-28 Impact factor: 2.743