Neurological involvement in visceral leishmaniasis: case report Envolvimento neurológico na leishmaniose visceral: relato de caso

Visceral leishmaniasis is a severe and potentially fatal vector-borne disease. The most typical symptoms are fever, hepatosplenomegaly, weight loss, bleeding and bacterial infections. Neurological changes are rarely reported. This paper describes a child who presented with neurological signs as the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Main Authors: Lílian Martins Oliveira Diniz, Helena Duani, Camila Rodrigues Freitas, Rosângela Maria Figueiredo, Christovão Castro Xavier
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2010
Subjects:
Sintomas neurológicos
Leishmaniose visceral
Calazar
Crianças
Neurological symptoms
Visceral leishmaniasis
Kala-azar
Children
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Arctic
Azar
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822010000600031
https://doaj.org/article/bed9d2adb6f84e61b4d40dc0735f74db
Description
Summary:Visceral leishmaniasis is a severe and potentially fatal vector-borne disease. The most typical symptoms are fever, hepatosplenomegaly, weight loss, bleeding and bacterial infections. Neurological changes are rarely reported. This paper describes a child who presented with neurological signs as the first symptoms of leishmaniasis; tone was diminished and tremors in the extremities were observed. A diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis was confirmed by parasite detection in the bone marrow. Symptoms were reversed by specific treatment. The nature of a possible mechanism of neurological involvement in visceral leishmaniasis remains unexplained. A leishmaniose visceral é uma doença severa e potencialmente fatal transmitida pela picada de flebótomos infectados pelo parasita. Os sintomas mais comuns incluem febre, hepatoesplenomegalia, perda de peso, sangramentos e infecções bacterianas. Alterações neurológicas têm sido raramente descritas nesses pacientes. Descrevemos aqui o caso de uma criança que desenvolveu um quadro de infecção pela Leishmania, tendo como principal sintoma tremor de extremidades. O diagnóstico da doença foi confirmado pela demonstração do parasita no aspirado de medula. Os sintomas foram revertidos pelo tratamento específico. A natureza do possível mecanismo do envolvimento neurológico na leishmaniose visceral permanece duvidoso.

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