Electrocardiographic and Biochemical Adverse Effects of Meglumine Antimoniate During the Treatment of Syrian Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Patients

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has been recognized as a major public health problem in several countries. It is highly endemic in the north and east Mediterranean regions in the Syrian Arab Republic with more than 75.9% of all CL cases recorded from these regions. Pentavalent antimonials have been considered as standard treatment for leishmaniasis. Use of pentavalent antimonials to treat leishmaniasis is associated with a range of cardiac, biochemical and hematological adverse effects. The most serious of these is the development of ventricular tachyarrhythmias associated with prolongation of the electrocardiographic (EKG) rate-corrected QT interval (QTc). Whereas some studies have reported that serious cardiac and biochemical adverse effects are common and often require treatment interruption or discontinuation, others have reported the drugs to be well tolerated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Meglumine Antimoniate (MA) on EKG and some liver, kidney, and pancreas function tests among Syrian CL patients.