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Patients coinfected with Leishmania/HIV can develop atypical forms of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), making it indispensable to identify the etiological agent. We are presenting a postmortemspecie definition by ITS1-PCR-RFLP in a larynx tissue of a patient presented coinfectionLeishmania/HIV. This patient was from a leishmaniasis endemic region in São Paulo(SP), Brazil, and was diagnosed clinically with mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Before a rK39immunochromatographic test positive, a tiny stored paraffin-embedded larynx tissue wasobtained post-mortem and submitted to 3 conventional PCR assays: kDNA (K20/K22 and RV1/RV2), and ITS1 (LITSR/ L5.8S). The last one was followed by RFLP (HaeIII) andanalyzed by 4% Metaphor agarose gel electrophoresis. Leishmania genus and Leishmania(Leishmania) subgenus were defined by kDNA-PCR, with K20/K22 (120 bp) and RV1/RV2(145 bp), respectively. ITS1-PCR-RFLP identified L. (L.) infantum chagasi species visualizedby the restriction patterns of 180, 70 and 50 bp. This case draws attention to the necessityfor a clear identification of the etiological agent causing infection, especially in endemicregions of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, and particularly in patients with comorbidities who often present atypical forms of the disease. L. (L.) infantum chagasi, which is usuallyresponsible for VL, had changed its clinical spectrum for mucocutaneous. Unequivocalidentification was carried out by ITS-PCR-RFLP, therefore confirming rK39 result. Thesetechniques, which complemented each other, have a convenient cost-benefit ratio thatmakes them suitable to be applied in developing countries.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic condition that is frequent in patients living in tropical areas exposed to leishmaniasis. RA therapy involves immunosuppressant drugs such as methotrexate (MTX), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and prednisone. We report an unusual presentation of cutaneous (CL) or mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (ML) in RA patients from an endemic area of leishmaniasis. A 51-year-old woman noted a cutaneous ulcer on her left ankle during MTX and prednisone RA therapy. Initially diagnosed as a venous stasis ulcer, the aspirate of the injury revealed the presence of Leishmania DNA. A 73-year-old woman presenting non-ulcerated, infiltrated and painful erythematous nodules inside her nostrils while receiving MTX, anti-TNF mAb, and prednisone for RA, had also the aspirate of injuries showing the presence of Leishmania DNA. Both patients healed after the therapy with liposomal amphotericin. The RA therapy has changed to low-dose prednisone, without further reactivation episodes. Both cases suggest that CL or ML can reactivate after administration of an immunosuppressant for RA treatment. Therefore, immunosuppressive treatments for RA should be carefully prescribed in patients from endemic areas or with a history of CL and ML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo is the property of Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The definitive diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) requires invasive procedures with demonstration of amastigotes in tissue or promastigotes in culture. Unfortunately, these approaches require laboratory materials not available in poor countries where the disease is endemic. The correct diagnosis of VL is important, and made more difficult by the fact that several common tropical diseases such as malaria, disseminated tuberculosis, and enteric fever share the same clinical presentation. Serological tests have been developed to replace parasitological diagnosis in the field. A commercially available K39-based strip test for VL has been developed for this purpose. The endemic area of leishmaniasis in Brazil overlaps the endemic area of Chagas disease, a disease that can cause false-positive serological test results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of false-positive exams using a rapid test for VL in patients with Chagas disease., Methods: A rapid test based on the recombinant K39 antigen of Leishmania was used in: (1) 30 patients with confirmed Chagas disease, (2) 30 patients with a serological diagnosis of Chagas disease by ELISA, indirect immunofluorescence, indirect hemagglutination, and chemiluminescence, (3) 30 healthy patients from a non-endemic area as the control group, (4) 30 patients with confirmed VL, and (5) 20 patients with proved cutaneous leishmaniasis., Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the rapid strip test were 100% when compared with healthy volunteers and those with confirmed Chagas disease. One false-positive result occurred in the group with Chagas disease diagnosed by serological tests (specificity of 96%)., Conclusion: The rapid test based on recombinant K39 is a useful diagnostic assay, and a false-positive result rarely occurs in patients with a serological diagnosis of Chagas disease.