Comparative study of the efficacy of combined cryotherapy and intralesional meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime®) vs. cryotherapy and intralesional meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime®) alone for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania species. There is a need for more effective and less time-consuming therapeutic methods for this condition. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of combined cryotherapy and intralesional meglumine antimoniate (MA) (Glucantime(R), Specia, Paris, France) for the treatment of CL. Methods Patients were divided into three groups: Group 1, 100 patients with 149 lesions were treated with cryotherapy plus intralesional MA; Group 2, 200 patients with 230 lesions were treated with cryotherapy; Group 3, 100 patients with 160 lesions were treated with intralesional MA. These groups were followed for 6 months after the end of treatment. Results The results showed complete cure in 90.9% of cases in Group 1, 57.15% of cases in Group 2, and 55.63% of cases in Group 3. The difference between Group 1 and the other groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusions Combined cryotherapy and intralesional MA is more effective than either cryotherapy or intralesional MA alone for the treatment of CL.