High frequency of skin reactions in patients with leishmaniasis treated with meglumine antimoniate contaminated with heavy metals: a comparative approach using historical controls

• Main Authors: Gustavo Adolfo Sierra Romero, Érico Marlon de Moraes Flores, Elza Ferreira Noronha, Vanize de Oliveira Macêdo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2003-01-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: pentavalent antimony; heavy metals; cutaneous leishmaniasis; lead; arsenic; toxicity
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762003000100019
• ISSN: 0074-0276; 1678-8060

We analyzed data from historical controls treated with meglumine antimoniate to compare the frequency of adverse events observed in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with the same dose of meglumine antimoniate contaminated with heavy metals in an endemic area of the State of Bahia, Brazil. Group A patients were treated in 2000 with the drug produced by Eurofarma Laboratórios Ltda., São Paulo, Brazil (lot A) and group B patients were treated in 1996 with the reference drug produced by Rhodia Farma Ltda., São Paulo, Brazil (lot B). We observed an unusual higher frequency of skin reactions in group A patients. However, all type of adverse events observed in group A were also observed in group B. The physico-chemical analysis of these lots revealed that lot A had lower pH and higher concentration of total and trivalent antimony, lead, cadmium, and arsenic. Our findings suggest that the skin reactions could be attributed to heavy metal contamination of lot A.