Using pentamidine to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis in children: a 10-year study in French Guiana

Abstract

Abstract There are little data on pentamidine as a treatment for paediatric cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). The objective of this study was to describe the effectiveness and safety of pentamidine over a 10-year period. Every child seen in French Guiana between 2010 and 2020 with proven CL and treated with pentamidine was included. In total, 55 children met the inclusion criteria – 23 girls and 32 boys. There were 38 patients (38/55, 69%) with a > 50% improvement at 1 month after pentamidine treatment and a complete cure at 3 months; 16 children had a < 50% improvement at 1 month and were given a second dose. Of these 16, 8 showed a complete cure at 3 months, 5 were lost to follow-up and 3 showed therapeutic failure at 3 months. The overall cure rate was 84% (46/55) after one or two doses. In terms of the safety of pentamidine, no severe adverse events (grade ≥ 3) were reported.