Hexadecyl-phosphorylcholine ointment for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis: an animal trial.

A placebo-controlled trial compared 6% hexadecyl-phosphorylcholine (HePC) and 12% benzethonium chloride ointment with placebo ointment for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Cutaneous lesions were experimentally induced by inoculation with leishmania promastigotes in 60 golden hamsters. Forty (40) animals were treated with drug and 20 with placebo ointment applied twice daily for 15 days. After treatment, all lesions were significantly reduced in size in the treatment group compared with the placebo ointment. No parasites were detected in smears from 35/40 of the drug-treated lesions and no relapses occurred over 120 days of observation.