Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40539059›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2025

Case Report: Disseminated leishmaniasis and rheumatoid arthritis: navigating a clinical conundrum.

Endrit Shahini, Donatello Marziliano, Francesco Losito, Marianna Zappimbulso, Elisabetta Cavalcanti, Raffaele Armentano, Fabio Fucilli, Raffaele Cozzolongo, Giuseppe Ingravallo, Fabrizio Pappagallo and 5 more

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

15 authors.

Endrit ShahiniGastroenterology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology-IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis", Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Donatello MarzilianoGuido Baccelli Unit of Internal Medicine, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area-(DiMePRe-J), School of Medicine, Aldo Moro University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Francesco LositoGastroenterology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology-IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis", Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Marianna ZappimbulsoGastroenterology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology-IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis", Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Elisabetta CavalcantiHistopathology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis" Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Raffaele ArmentanoHistopathology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis" Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Fabio FucilliRadiology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology-IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis", Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Raffaele CozzolongoGastroenterology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology-IRCCS "Saverio de Bellis", Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy.
Giuseppe IngravalloDepartment of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), Pathology Unit, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
Fabrizio PappagalloGuido Baccelli Unit of Internal Medicine, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area-(DiMePRe-J), School of Medicine, Aldo Moro University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Roberta IattaInterdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
Vanessa DesantisPharmacology section, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
Annalisa SaracinoClinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
Angelo VaccaGuido Baccelli Unit of Internal Medicine, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area-(DiMePRe-J), School of Medicine, Aldo Moro University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Antonio Giovanni SolimandoGuido Baccelli Unit of Internal Medicine, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area-(DiMePRe-J), School of Medicine, Aldo Moro University of Bari, Bari, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Leishmaniasis is a potentially life-threatening protozoan infection that presents with many clinical manifestations, including cutaneous, mucocutaneus and visceral forms. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cutaneous leishmaniasis can persist or re-emerge due to treatment-induced immunosuppression. However, it remains unclear whether this severe opportunistic infection is primarily driven by medication-induced immunosuppression or other poorly understood immune-mediated mechanisms that increase susceptibility. Case presentation: We describe an unusual case of disseminated leishmaniasis in a 50-year-old Italian man from Apulia, diagnosed with RA two years earlier. Following 15 months of unsuccessful immunosuppressive therapies, he developed severe multilineage pancytopenia, moderate hypertransaminasemia, elevated inflammatory markers, monoclonal gammopathy, clinically significant hepatosplenomegaly, and an ulcerated skin lesion. Initial diagnostic efforts excluded common infectious agents, primary hematological disorders, Felty syndrome, and amyloidosis. The non-specific histopathological findings from the pyoderma gangrenosum-like lesion and the transient clinical response to empirical steroids, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factors further complicated the diagnostic process. The breakthrough came when a liver biopsy, performed to investigate persistent hypertransaminasemia, revealed Conclusions: In patients with rheumatological conditions, the overlapping symptoms of systemic diseases and infections like leishmaniasis can lead to significant diagnostic delays. This case underscores the importance of comprehensive and meticulous diagnostic evaluations in immunosuppressed individuals to prevent potentially fatal outcomes.

Indexed as

Arthritis, RheumatoidLeishmaniasisOpportunistic InfectionsAmphotericin BAntiprotozoal AgentsHumansImmunocompromised HostMaleMiddle AgedAmphotericin BAntiprotozoal Agentsanti-CCP antibodiesimmunosuppressionleishmaniasisrheumatoid arthritiszoonosis

Identifiers

PMID40539059
PMCPMC12176833

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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.