Table 2.
Patient characteristics and prolonged health-seeking delay (≥ one month) in 244 confirmed cutaneous leishmaniasis patients in Ecuador
| Patient characteristic (N missing for variable) | Health-seeking delay < 1 month | Health-seeking delay ≥ 1 month | Two-sided Pa | All patients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Patients (%) | 88 (36) | 156 (64) | 244 (100) | |
| General characteristics | ||||
| Mean age in years (SD) | 21.9 (17.1) | 27.7 (19.7) | 0.02b | 25.6 (18.9) |
| Males (%) | 52 (59) | 87 (56) | 0.62 | 139 (57) |
| Mestizo (%) | 76 (86) | 103 (66) | 179 (73) | |
| Amazon Amerindian (%) | 12 (14) | 53 (34) | < 0.01b | 65 (27) |
| Characteristics of the area of infection | ||||
| Pacific region (%) | 69 (78) | 85 (55) | 154 (63) | |
| Amazon region (%) | 19 (22) | 71 (45) | < 0.01b | 90 (37) |
| Median altitude of place of infection in hectometers (IQR) | 6.3 (6.0) | 3.7 (3.5) | < 0.01b | 4.7 (4.6) |
| Clinical presentation | ||||
| Lesion type: ulcer (%) | 87 (98) | 142 (92) | 0.01b | 229 (93) |
| Lesion type: nodule (%) | 2 (2) | 7 (4) | 0.50 | 9 (4) |
| Lesion type: other (%) | 0 (0) | 7 (4) | 0.05 | 7 (3) |
| Median number of lesions (IQR) | 1 (0) | 1 (1) | 0.11 | 1 (1) |
| Body location of the lesion c | ||||
| Head and neck (%) | 30 (32) | 25 (15) | < 0.01b | 55 (21) |
| Trunk (%) | 14 (15) | 18 (10) | 0.33 | 32 (12) |
| Upper limbs (%) | 36 (38) | 74 (43) | 0.33 | 110 (41) |
| Lower limbs (%) | 14 (15) | 56 (32) | < 0.01b | 70 (26) |
N = Number, P = Probability, SD = Standard Deviation, IQR = Interquartile Range
a Comparing Health-seeking delay < 1 month and ≥ 1 month with the independent samples T, Wald, Fishers exact, or Mann-Whitney U test
b Statistically significant
c Patients with lesions on different body regions were counted more than once