TY - JOUR
T1 - Painful and swollen tongue
T2 - mucosal leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum
AU - Chong, Ga-Lai M
AU - Ong, David S Y
AU - de Mendonça Melo, Mariana
AU - van Hellemond, Jaap J
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by different Leishmania species. L. infantum is found in the Mediterranean area. It usually causes visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis, but rarely mucosal leishmaniasis (ML).METHODS: A 62-year-old man with metastatic non-small-cell lung carcinoma visited the outpatient clinic because of a painful and swollen tongue. Initially, oral candidiasis was suspected and patient was unsuccessfully treated accordingly. Subsequently, a biopsy from the tongue was taken.RESULTS: Histology of the tongue biopsy showed an inflammation with histiocytes and Leishmania amastigotes. Molecular analysis determined these parasites as L. donovani complex. Based on the patient's travel history, ML caused by L. infantum was diagnosed.CONCLUSION: ML is an unusual presentation of L. infantum. ML is not only caused by Leishmania species endemic in Latin America, but also should be considered in the differential diagnosis for European patients. A biopsy of the affected location is needed to confirm the diagnosis.
AB - BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by different Leishmania species. L. infantum is found in the Mediterranean area. It usually causes visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis, but rarely mucosal leishmaniasis (ML).METHODS: A 62-year-old man with metastatic non-small-cell lung carcinoma visited the outpatient clinic because of a painful and swollen tongue. Initially, oral candidiasis was suspected and patient was unsuccessfully treated accordingly. Subsequently, a biopsy from the tongue was taken.RESULTS: Histology of the tongue biopsy showed an inflammation with histiocytes and Leishmania amastigotes. Molecular analysis determined these parasites as L. donovani complex. Based on the patient's travel history, ML caused by L. infantum was diagnosed.CONCLUSION: ML is an unusual presentation of L. infantum. ML is not only caused by Leishmania species endemic in Latin America, but also should be considered in the differential diagnosis for European patients. A biopsy of the affected location is needed to confirm the diagnosis.
KW - Leishmania infantum
KW - Mucosal leishmaniasis
KW - parasitic disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118358385&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.09.071
DO - 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.09.071
M3 - Comment/Letter to the editor
C2 - 34597767
SN - 1201-9712
VL - 113
SP - 109
EP - 112
JO - International Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - International Journal of Infectious Diseases
ER -