TY - JOUR AU - Tekalign, Samson AU - Adera, Cherinet AU - den Boer, Margriet AU - Miecha, Hirpha AU - Zewde, Ashenafi AU - Mulugeta, Dagnachew AU - Bishawu, Tesfahun AU - Birru, Weyuma AU - Lema, Awoke AU - Sahlu, Tilahun AU - Alves, Fabiana AU - Manzi, Marcel AU - Takarinda, Kudakwashe AU - van Griensven, Johan PY - 2020/06/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Clinical features and treatment outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis patients admitted to three centers in Oromia, Ethiopia JF - The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries JA - J Infect Dev Ctries VL - 14 IS - 06.1 SE - The Ethiopian SORT IT Course DO - 10.3855/jidc.11731 UR - https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/32614795 SP - 42S-47S AB - <p>Introduction: In three health care facilities in the Oromia region, the aim of this study is to report on 1) the number of VL cases registered over time (2013-2018) and 2) the clinical profile, type of treatment used and response to treatment.</p><p>Methodology: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among all VL cases admitted with a diagnosis of VL.</p><p>Results: A total of 434 VL cases were registered at the three health facilities, but patient files were available for only 188. Most (51.6%) were children and only three presented with VL relapse. 78 (41.5%) of the 188 patients presented within one month of symptom onset. Concurrent severe acute malnutrition (27.1%), tuberculosis (6.4%) and malaria (6.4%) were common. There were only two cases with HIV coinfection. Fourty-three percent were treated with antimonials, 34% with antimonials combined with paromomycin and 23% with AmBisome. Amongst the 188 patients with patient files there were no deaths and one treatment failure. Six months outcome data were however missing for all. Aggregated data from the 434 VL cases reported three deaths, two treatment failures and one relapse.</p><p>Conclusions: Children were most commonly affected, suggesting long-term endemicity. While short-term outcomes are encouraging, long-term follow-up data are required.</p> ER -