Nonresponsiveness to standard treatment in cutaneous leishmaniasis: A case series from Sri Lanka

Leishmaniasis is caused by parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in Sri Lanka with over 3000 cases during the last decade and numbers are increasing. Treatment options available in Sri Lanka for CL include intralesional/intramuscular sodium stibogluconate and cryotherapy. Eight cases of treatment failure with standard therapy are reported from the Dermatology Clinic, Teaching Hospital Anuradhapura. Therapeutic regimes aim for clinical healing, these patients responded poorly to anti-leishmanial therapy, indicating the need for close monitoring, explore alternative treatment options and to investigate for drug resistance in parasites.