Nasal leishmaniasis

[Nasal leishmaniasis: a case report]

OBJECTIVE

To report a nasal leishmaniasis diagnosed by septal perforation biopsy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We report a case of septal perforation with crusty rhinosinusitis and nasal vestibulitis in a 54-year-old woman with cirrhosis.

RESULTS

Mucocartilaginous biopsy revealed a mucosal leishmaniasis. Biological and radiologic findings were normal. Clinical follow-up with anti-parasitical treatment showed a regression of the patient's muco-cutaneous lesion and regression of her hepatic insufficiency.

CONCLUSION

Biopsy of septal perforation is a useful diagnostic tool, advocated for differentiate infectious, neoplasic and inflammatory pathology. Leishmaniasis may be evoked in rhinologic pathology.

A Case of Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is prevalent in most warm-climate areas of the world. We describe a long-undiagnosed case of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in Italy that might have been contracted in Costa Rica. The patient's signs and symptoms included granulomatous-like lesions on the forehead and legs, nasal obstruction accompanied by serous and crusted rhinorrhea, and diffuse granulomatous-like lesions in the septum and turbinates. The patient was treated with three on-off cycles of itraconazole. At the 1-year follow-up, all his lesions had nearly disappeared.