American cutaneous leishmaniasis triggered by electrocoagulation

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Sofia Sales
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Santos, Adriana de Oliveira, Lima, Beatriz Dolabela, Gomes, Ciro Martins, Sampaio, Raimunda Nonata Ribeiro
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UnB
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.unb.br/handle/10482/33314; https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0306-2017
• topic: Leishmaniose cutânea; Trauma; Eletrocoagulação

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is usually transmitted by infected phlebotomine sand fly bites that initiate local cutaneous lesions. Few reports in the literature describe other modes of transmission. We report a case of a previously healthy 59-year-old woman who underwent electrocoagulation to remove seborrheic keratosis confirmed by dermatoscopy. Three months later, a skin fragment tested positive for Leishmania culture; the parasite was identified as L. (V.) braziliensis. Trauma may generate inflammatory cascades that favor Leishmania growth and lesion formation in previously infected patients. American cutaneous leishmaniasis is a dynamic disease with unclear pathophysiology because of continually changing environments, demographics, and human behaviors.