Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV/AIDS): A case report

Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases which is caused by an intracellular protozoal infection. It is the third most common opportunistic infectious disease in HIV positive patients worldwide. In this article, we present a 30-year-old women who was a known case of HIV/AIDS infection and developed multiple papules and nodules as on her face, arm and shoulder with diagnoses of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. PCR was performed for determination of parasites species and Leishmania tropica was identified as the causative agent. The patient was treated with parenteral amphotericine B and topical neosomal paromomycin for 3 weeks and all lesions healed without scaring.
She discontinued her anti-retroviral therapy a few months later and the lesions recurred. Finally, she died due to sepsis and pulmonary emboli.