Maternal and perinatal outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) treated with sodium stibogluconate in eastern Sudan

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.

Keywords: Kala-azar, Perinatal, Pregnancy, Sodium stibogluconate, Sudan, Visceral leishmaniasis