Table 3. Side Effects of Paromomycin Compared with Placebo and Antimony Compounds.
| Comparisons | Paromomycin (n/N) | Control (n/N) |
| Local reactions * | ||
| Topical PR only vs Placebo | ||
| El-Safi, 1990 [36] | 2/20 | 0/20 |
| Salah, 1995 [34] | 6/52 | 6/56 |
| Asilian, 1995 [32] | 8/126 | 11/125 |
| Iraji, 2005 [29] | 3/40 | 0/40 |
| RR (95% CI) | 1.07 (0.52, 2.21) | I2 = 11% |
| Topical PR only vs Intralesional MA | ||
| Shazad, 2005 [33] | 1/30 | 3/30 |
| Topical PR only vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] † | 13/40 | 0/40 |
| Topical PR/MBCL vs Placebo | ||
| El-On, 1992 [37] | 3/40 | 0/16 |
| Arana, 2001 [16] | 22/38 | 14/38 |
| RR (95% CI) | 1.60 (0.98, 2.61) | I2 = 0% |
| Topical PR/MBCL vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] † | 7/40 | 0/40 |
| Myalgia | ||
| Topical PR only vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 0/40 | 1/40 |
| Topical PR/MBCL vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 0/40 | 1/40 |
| Parenteral PR vs Parenteral Antimony Compounds ‡ | ||
| Hepburn, 1994 [5] | 1/17 | 17/17 |
| Correia, 1996 [4] | 2/15 | 8/16 |
| RR (95% CI) | 0.16 (0.05, 0.48) | I2 = 14% |
| Generalized Symptoms § | ||
| Topical PR only vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 2/40 | 14/40 |
| Topical PR/MBCL vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 6/40 | 14/40 |
| Parenteral PR vs Parenteral Antimony Compounds ‡ | ||
| Hepburn, 1994 [5] | 0/17 | 3/17 |
| Correia, 1996 [4] | 10/15 | 12/16 |
| RR (95% CI) | 0.64 (0.16, 2.54) | I2 = 33% |
| Headache | ||
| Topical PR only vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 1/40 | 5/40 |
| Topical PR/MBCL vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 2/40 | 5/40 |
| Parenteral PR vs Parenteral SB | ||
| Hepburn, 1994 [5] | 0/17 | 3/17 |
| Arthralgia | ||
| Topical PR only vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 0/40 | 1/40 |
| Topical PR/MBCL vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Armijos, 2004 [3] | 0/40 | 1/40 |
| Parenteral PR vs Parenteral MA | ||
| Correia, 1996 [4] | 0/15 | 5/16 |
| Generalized Eruption | ||
| Parenteral PR vs Parenteral SB | ||
| Hepburn, 1994 [5] | 1/17 | 1/17 |
Abbreviations: PR, paromomycin; RR, risk ratio; CI, confidence interval; MBCL, methylbenzethonium chloride; MA, meglumine antimoniate; SB, sodium stibogluconate.
*: Local reactions include pain, burning sensation, pruritus, erythema, edema, and inflammation at the site of administration.
†: Armijos et al [3] reported the number of subjects who experienced each category of local side effects, without providing a cumulative number of subjects. Therefore, the number of those who developed local inflammation was presented for local reaction.
‡: Parenteral antimony compounds include parenteral MA and parenteral SB.
§: Generalized symptoms include fever, malaise, weakness, and anorexia.