Leishmania in a Patient with Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma/Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Unusual clinical course, Unusual or unexpected effect of treatment, Patient complains / malpractice, Educational Purpose (only if useful for a systematic review or synthesis)
Gregory Nicolas, Elliott Koury, Dani Osman, Christian Saliba, Lea Nehme, Stephanie Mitri, Julien-Sami Atef El Sayegh, Linda Rached, George Khoury
(Department of General Surgery, Lebanese American University Medical Center-Rizk Hospital (LAUMCRH), Beirut, Lebanon)
Am J Case Rep 2018; 19:512-516
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.907584
Published: 2018-05-01
BACKGROUND:
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection spread by the bite of infected sand flies that are usually present in the Middle East, Africa, and some parts of Asia and Europe. Leishmaniasis manifests in 3 different forms: Visceral (also known as Kala Azar), which is the most serious type; cutaneous, which is the most common type; and mucocutaneous. The symptoms of this infection range from a silent infection to fever, enlargement of the liver and spleen, weight loss, and pancytopenia.
CASE REPORT:
In this case report, we discuss a 73-year-old man known to have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), presenting with unremitting fever and who to our surprise was found to have Kala Azar.
CONCLUSIONS:
Early diagnosis and treatment are very important in treating visceral leishmaniasis. While the conventional treatment in immunocompromised patients is liposomal amphotericin B, our patient responded to corticosteroids.
Keywords: general surgery, Laparoscopes, Medical Oncology
