Combination Therapy for Visceral Leishmaniasis?

The three combination regimens tested were safe and efficacious and produced fewer adverse effects than standard monotherapy.

Pentavalent antimonials are the most common treatment worldwide for visceral leishmaniasis. In some regions (including Bihar, India), these agents are ineffective because the underlying parasite has developed resistance. Might short-course combination therapy, which could delay development of resistance to individual drugs, be safe and efficacious? In a phase III noninferiority trial conducted at two hospitals in Bihar, investigators compared three such treatments against standard monotherapy.

Patients aged 5 to 60 with parasitologically confirmed visceral leishmaniasis were randomized to receive standard therapy (intravenous amphotericin B [AMB] on alternate days for 30 days; total dose, 15 mg/kg) or one of three short-course combination re…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine