PMID: 16519257Mar 8, 2006Paper

Management of visceral leishmaniasis: Indian perspective

Journal of Postgraduate Medicine
S AgrawalS Sundar

Abstract

Diagnosis and treatment of Indian visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is extremely unsatisfactory. For diagnosis, demonstration of parasites in splenic/marrow smears remains the gold standard, though k39 rapid strip test is a useful method in regions where access to parasite demonstration is difficult. pentavalent antimony remains the mainstay for the treatment of all forms of leishmaniasis globally; however, development of large-scale antimony resistance in Bihar has necessitated search for alternative drugs. Amphotericin B is the most effective, though toxic, drug for patients with refractory VL. Lipid formulations of amphotericin B, though safe and effective, are too expensive to be useful for poor patients of this region. These hold advantage as large quantity of the drug can safely be given over a short period of time, thus leading to a decrease in the hospital stay to a few days instead of several weeks. Oral miltefosine, an alkyl phospholipid, has recently been approved and marketed in India for the treatment of VL. Miltefosine cures 94% patients with VL if given in a daily dose of 50-100 mg for 28 days. Most common adverse events are mild vomiting and diarrhea. Paromomycin, an amino glycoside, is undergoing a pivotal phase-III ...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Cardiac Glycosides

Cardiac glycosides are a diverse family of naturally derived compounds that bind to and inhibit na+/k+-atpase. Discover the latest research on cardiac glycosides heres.

Related Papers

Medical Microbiology and Immunology
S Sundar
The Indian Journal of Medical Research
S Sundar, Mitali Chatterjee
Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
S SundarMadhukar Rai
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
S SundarMadhukar Rai
The Indian Journal of Medical Research
R K SinghS Sundar
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved