Authors : A. Tamook , G. Moghaddam Yeganeh and N. Aminisani
Abstract: In endemic zones like Iran where L. infantum causes visceral leishmaniasis the great majority of cases tend to be children and 25-40% of all infections in Iran occur in Ardabil Province. this study was out in order to identify clinical laboratory presentations and demographic characteristics of infected patients. In this descriptive cross-sectional study all children hospitalized with a kala-azar diagnosis from Ardabil province were enrolled into the study in a given period of time. One hundred and twenty patients were enrolled among whom 10 case were excluded because lack of definitive diagnosis criteria. A questionnaire was filled out for each patient to collect data in three main areas as demographic information, clinical presentation and laboratory findings. Data were entered into the computer and analyzed through SPSS 13 statistical software package. Boys constituted 62 cases (56.4%) and the rest were girls. 62.7 % of cases were under two years of age and 39 % were infants. The highest hospitalization rate was recorded in winter. Only in 37.8% of cases, the disease was diagnosed within one month after symptomatic presentation of disease. There was a previous infection history in 8.5% of cases and a familial history of Kala-Azar in 6.3 % of patients. The main reason for a medical referral was fever (72.5%), abdominal swelling (20%) and abdominal pain (7.5%). The minimum and maximum expected rate of anemia among patients was 84-90%. Thrombocytopenia was found in 60.8% and Leukopenia was observed in 24.8 %. It mean ESR was 60.92�36. There was a 5.5 % mortality and 2.7% relapse or treatment failure in this study. The was a delayed diagnosis in many of the cases. No extra ordinary clinical presentation or laboratory findings was found. A distribution pattern change in endemic zones has occurred.
A. Tamook , G. Moghaddam Yeganeh and N. Aminisani , 2006. Visceral Leishmaniasis Hospitalization in Ardabil Province, Northwest of Iran. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 1: 190-193.