Efficacy of 28-day and 40-day Regimens of Sodium Stibogluconate (Pentostam) in the Treatment of Mucosal Leishmaniasis

The efficacy and toxicity of two regimens of antimony, 28 and 40 days of 20 mg of antimonykgday, were compared in the treatment of culture-positive mucosal leishmaniasis involving more than one anatomic site. Forty consecutive eligible Peruvians with infiltrative or ulcerative mucosal disease of the lips, nose, palate-uvula-pharynx, or larynx-epiglottis were randomized to receive either 28 days P28 or 40 days P40 of sodium stibogluconate Pentostam. Treatment was prematurely terminated due to thrombocytopenia in three patients and two patients did not complete six months of follow-up. At one month post- treatment, 13 2 of 16 of the P28 patients and 16 3 of 19 of the P40 patients no longer had infiltrates or ulcers and were initially considered cured. During a further 11 months of follow-up, infiltrated lesions healed in eight more P28 patients and in 10 more P40 patients.