Common laboratory abnormalities included anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia and hypergammaglobulinemia. Liver function tests were deranged in one-third of patients. Leishmania hemagglutination test was positive in all patients and all of them had positive bone marrow smear or culture for Leishmania donovani. Four patients died in the first few days of therapy. Jaundice and grossly deranged liver function tests were found to be bad prognostic signs.
Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in southern Saudi Arabia.
For example, lymph-adenopathy is common in African leishmaniasis but rare in the Indian type. There are few reports from Saudi Arabia about this disease. This study was, therefore, undertaken to evaluate the clinical patterns, diagnosis and response to therapy of visceral leishmaniasis in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted at King Fahad Hospital in Gizan. It included patients diagnosed as having visceral leishmaniasis.