Abstract:

Objective To analyze the epidemiological, clinical and histopathological characteristics of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Methods This study included six patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosed in the Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, over the past 10 years. The epidemiological features as well as clinical and histopathologic presentations of these patients were analyzed retrospectively. Results All of the six patients were male. The mean age at onset of skin eruptions was 47.67 （range: 37－67） years, and the mean duration of disease was 10 （range: 6－18） months. Clinical presentations included erythema, nodules and ulcers in the face and limbs. Skin biopsy revealed infection-associated granulomatous inflammation with many amastigotes （basophilic bodies） in the cytoplasm of histiocytes, which were highlighted with Giemsa stain. All the patients had a history of working at or travel to epidemic areas. Conclusion The diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis mainly depends on epidemiological data, clinical manifestation and histopathologic findings.

Key words: clinical analysis