Using pentamidine to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis in children: a 10-year study in French Guiana.

There is little data on pentamidine as a treatment for paediatric Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. The objective of this study was to describe the effectiveness and safety of pentamidine over a 10-year period. Every child seen in French Guiana between 2010 and 2020 with proven CL and treated with pentamidine was included; A total of 55 children met the inclusion criteria - 23 girls and 32 boys. 38 patients (38/55, 69.1%) presented a > 50% improvement at M1 after pentamidine and a complete cure at M3. 16 children presented a < 50% improvement at M1 and were given a second dose. Of these 16, 8 showed a complete cure at M3, 5 were lost to follow-up and 3 showed therapeutic failure at M3. The overall cure rate was 83.6% (46/55) after one or two doses. In terms of the safety of pentamidine, no severe adverse events (grade ≥ 3) were reported.