Maternal and perinatal outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) treated with sodium stibogluconate in eastern Sudan
Received 24 June 2009; received in revised form 15 July 2009; accepted 12 August 2009. published online 22 September 2009.
Abstract
Objective
To investigate maternal and perinatal outcomes when pregnant women with visceral leishmaniasis (VL, also known as kala-azar) are treated with the antimonial sodium stibogluconate.
Method
Forty-two pregnant women with VL were treated with sodium stibogluconate at Gadarif Hospital, Gadarif, Sudan, and mother and child were followed up for 1year.
Results
The treatment began at a mean±SD of 24.4±9.2weeks of pregnancy. None of the patients had malaria or HIV. Two (4.7%) who received the treatment in the first trimester had miscarriages; 4 (4.9%) died from hepatic encephalopathy during the second week of treatment; and 2 (4.7%) had preterm deliveries. One of the newborns had a myelomeningocele and died at 2 hours, and the other died from VL at 2months.
Conclusion
Preventive measures against VL should be employed in the region, and more research on VL and its treatment during pregnancy is needed.
bFaculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Sudan
Corresponding author. PO Box 102, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan. Tel.: +249 912168988; fax: +249 183771211.
ABSTRACT