Table 2.
Local treatment of CL.
| Drug | Efficacy | Safety (Adverse Events [AE]) |
Ease of Use | Cost | Other Considerations | Regimen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermotherapy | + Non-specific |
- Non-specific, damage to adjacent tissue |
+ | + | 1–3 sessions | |
| Cryotherapy (Liquid nitrogen) |
+ Non-specific |
- Non-specific, damage to adjacent tissue; residual hypopigmentation |
+ | + | 1–3 sessions | |
| Ultraviolet (UV) light | - Anecdotal data |
+ Presumably safe, but scarce data |
- Requires specific equipment |
- | Not defined | |
| Intra-lesional antimonials (pentostam) | + Proven effect on different leishmania species |
- Painful |
- | - | May require anesthesia, hospitalization |
Usually 1–5 sessions |
| Nitric oxide | - Theoretical, scarce data |
- Scarce data |
- Need for equipment and protocol development |
- Unknown |
Not defined | |
| Paromomycin-containing creams | + Proven effect mainly on L. major |
+ Pain is common following prolonged duration |
+ | + | Limited availability |
Apply bid for 10 d, rest for 10 d, reapply bid for 10 d |
| Liposomal amphotericin B (LAmB) ointment | - Limited data |
+ | + | - Unknown |
Not defined |
Efficacy: + proven efficacy; - generally, not effective/scarce data. Safety: + mild-moderate AE; - severe AE. Ease of use: + easy use; - difficult. Cost: + affordable; - expensive.