Open AccessTongue Nodule as Primary Manifestation of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Immunocompetent Patient
Author(s) -
Maria Clara Bertolini Botelho,
Lígia Ferreira,
Stélios Fikaris,
Ana Carolina PradoRibeiro,
Ana Maria Pires Soubhia,
Éder Ricardo Biasoli,
Glauco Issamu Miyahara,
Daniel Galera Bernabé
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
head and neck pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.801
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-0568
pISSN - 1936-055X
DOI - 10.1007/s12105-020-01253-w
Subject(s) - meglumine antimoniate , tongue , medicine , nodule (geology) , pathology , leishmaniasis , leishmania , dorsum , parasitic disease , cutaneous leishmaniasis , disease , dermatology , parasite hosting , biology , anatomy , paleontology , world wide web , computer science
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease considered an endemic public health problem in developing countries, where it is a reportable disease. Isolated oral manifestation is rare, and its clinical manifestations are variable. In this paper we describe an unusual case of an immunocompetent patient, 57-year-old man with a painless reddish submucosal nodule located on the tongue dorsum. Microscopical analysis showed chronic inflammatory infiltrate with macrophages containing leishmania in cytoplasmic vacuoles. PCR assays confirmed the diagnosis and patient was treated with meglumine antimoniate for 30 days. Absence of the parasite was confirmed by PCR. Thirteen years after treatment, a scar fibrosis persisted on the tongue dorsum. The case reported reveals that leishmaniasis should be considered in the diagnosis of tongue nodules in immunocompetent patients.