Clinical and epidemiological aspects of visceral leishmaniasis in children up to 15 years of age in Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil <br><b>[Abstract in English]</b>

Abstract

AIMS: To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children and adolescents with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brazil. METHODS: A descriptive study of individuals 0-15 years with a diagnosis of autochthonous cases of VL. We analyzed the information for the period from January 2007 to December 2011, contained in the Information System Diseases Notifications. RESULTS: We identified 291 children and adolescents with LV, 50.8% were male and the age group with the highest incidence of the disease was less than 5 years (72.5% of cases). It was found that 16.1% of these children lived in Natal and 40.9% were from 04 counties RN; 70.4% were from the urban area, 58.4% were brown and 2.7% were co-infected with HIV. The main clinical manifestation was fever (76.9%) and major clinical findings were pallor (68%), splenomegaly (67.7%) and hepatomegaly (63.9%). The treatment of choice was Glucantime (61%), conventional amphotericin B (1.44%), liposomal amphotericin B (5.77%); 15.1% of the patients developed infections. The average time between the occurrence of the first symptoms and the beginning of treatment was 32.5 days and 3.8% died. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the clinical and epidemiological characteristics identified in this study, we suggest a more effective monitoring by health professionals, aiming at early recognition and proper treatment of the disease and its complications.