Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33507944›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2021

Effectiveness of miltefosine in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica in Pakistan after antimonial treatment failure or contraindications to first line therapy-A retrospective analysis.

Suzette Kämink, Boota Masih, Noor Ali, Aman Ullah, Syed Juma Khan, Shakil Ashraf, Tetyana Pylypenko, Martin P Grobusch, Jena Fernhout, Margriet den Boer and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Afghanistan.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2025
    Review
  6. Therapeutic potential of iron oxide nanoparticles for cutaneous leishmaniasis: a systematic review ofThe journal of venomous animals and toxins including tropical diseases · 2025
    Review
  7. Synthetic biology for combating leishmaniasis.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Suzette KäminkMédecins Sans Frontières, Quetta, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-2871-1483
Boota MasihMédecins Sans Frontières, Quetta, Pakistan.
Noor AliMédecins Sans Frontières, Quetta, Pakistan.
Aman UllahMédecins Sans Frontières, Quetta, Pakistan.
Syed Juma KhanMédecins Sans Frontières, Quetta, Pakistan.
Shakil AshrafMohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto General Hospital,Quetta, Pakistan.
Tetyana PylypenkoMédecins Sans Frontières, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Martin P GrobuschCenter of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location AMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam Infection and Immunity, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jena FernhoutMédecins Sans Frontières, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Margriet den BoerMédecins Sans Frontières, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-1598-2206
Koert RitmeijerMédecins Sans Frontières, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-5924-872X
Amsterdam University Medical Centers · NLMédecins Sans Frontières · NLBenazir Bhutto Hospital · PKFrontier Medical College · PKMédecins Sans Frontières‎ · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical skin disease, caused by Leishmania protozoa. In Pakistan, where CL caused by L. tropica is highly endemic, therapy with pentavalent antimonials is the standard of care, but has significant toxicity when used in systemic therapy, while are no evidence-based safer alternative treatment options for L. tropica. The efficacy of oral miltefosine has not been studied in CL caused by L. tropica. We evaluated effectiveness and tolerability of miltefosine in patients with previous treatment failure or with contraindications to systemic antimonial treatment.

methodsA retrospective review was conducted of a cohort of CL patients who were treated with a 28-day course of miltefosine between December 2017 and August 2019, in urban Quetta, Pakistan, an area endemic for L. tropica. Descriptive analyses were performed, and effectiveness was assessed by initial response after treatment, and final cure at routine follow up visits, six weeks to three months post-treatment. Tolerability was assessed by routinely reported adverse events.

resultsOf the 76 CL patients in the cohort, 42 (55%) had contraindications to systemic antimonial treatment, and 34 (45%) had failure or relapse after antimonial treatment. Twelve patients defaulted during treatment and 12 patients were lost to follow up. In the remaining 52 patients, final cure rate was 77% (40/52). In those with contraindications to systemic antimonial treatment the final cure rate was 83% (24/29) and in the failure and relapse group 70% (16/23). Twenty-eight patients (40.0%) reported 39 mild to moderate adverse events with the main complaints being nausea (41.0%), general malaise (25.6%), and stomach pain (12.8%).

conclusionResults indicate that miltefosine is an effective second line treatment in CL in areas endemic for L. tropica. Prospective studies with systematic follow up are needed to obtain definitive evidence of effectiveness and tolerability, including identification of risk factors for miltefosine treatment failure.

Indexed as

Leishmania tropicaAdolescentAdultAgedAntimonyAntiprotozoal AgentsChildFemaleHumansLeishmaniasis, CutaneousMaleMiddle AgedPatient Outcome AssessmentPhosphorylcholineRetrospective StudiesTreatment FailureAntimonyAntiprotozoal AgentsmiltefosinePhosphorylcholine

Identifiers

PMID33507944
PMCPMC7872246
OpenAlexW3125732899

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.