Efficacy of oral zinc sulphate compared with intralesional meglumine antimoniate injection (glucantime) in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Introduction Leishmaniasis comprises of group of human infections which range in severity of disease from spontaneously healing skin ulcer to overwhelming systemic illness. Approximately 12 million patients are reported all over the world every year with this disease and it is associated with significant increase in morbidity.  This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of oral zinc sulphate with intralesional meglumine antimoniate injection in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Objective To compare the efficacy of oral zinc sulphate with intralesional meglumine antimoniate injection in patients presenting with cutaneous leishmaniasis at a tertiary care hospital. Subjects and Methods The randomized control trial was carried out in the Outpatient Department of Dermatology, Nishtar Hospital Multan from 1-6-2016 to 30-11-2016. A total of 68 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis were enrolled through Outpatient Department of Dermatology. The disease was diagnosed on clinical features with appearance of a papule or nodule at the feeding site of sandfly. Results Mean age of the patients presenting with cutaneous leishmaniasis in group A was 26.76±16.71 years and in group B 26.02±15.15 years. Males were (52.9% vs. 58.8%) in group A and B respectively while females were (47.1% vs. 41.2%) in group A and B respectively. In group A, 30 patients (88.2%) showed effective response to therapy and 4 patients (11.8%) showed ineffective response. Effective response in terms of complete cure was seen in 20 patients (66.7%) while effective response in terms of partial improvement was seen in 10 patients (33.3%). In group B, effective response was seen in 26 patients (76.5%), with complete cure in 14 patients (53.8%) and partial improvement in 12 (46.1%) patients. Ineffective response was seen in 8 (23.5%) patients. Conclusion There is no significant difference in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with oral zinc sulphate and intralesional meglumine antimoniate injection.