Topical and Intradermal Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy with Methylene Blue and Light-Emitting Diode in the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania braziliensis

 Introduction: The topical and intradermal photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect of methylene blue (MB) using light-emitting diode (LED) as light source (MB/LED-PDT) in the treatment of lesions of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) caused by Leishmania braziliensis in hamsters were investigated.Methods: Hamsters were infected in the footpad with 4×107 promastigotes of L. braziliensis and divided in 4 groups: Control group was not treated, AmB group was treated with amphotericin B, MB-Id group received intradermal MB at the edge of the lesion and MB-Tp group received MB topic. After treatment with MB, the animals were illuminated using red LEDs at the 655 nm wavelength for 1 hour. The MB/LED-PDT was carried out three times a week for 12 weeks.Results: Animals of MB-Tp group presented lesion healing with significant diminution in extent of the lesion, and reduced parasite burden compared to control group; however, no significant difference was seen compared to the AmB group. MB-Tp group also showed reconstitution of the epithelium, the formation of collagen fibers, organization in the epidermis, a little disorganization and inflammation in the dermis. MB-Id was ineffective in all parameters evaluated, and it was comparable to the control group results.Conclusion: These data show that PDT with the use of MB-Tp and LED may be an alternative for the treatment of ACL. However, additional studies are being conducted to assess the potential of MB/LED-PDT, alone or in combination with conventional therapy, for the treatment of ACL

Treating Otohematomas in Dogs with Intra-Lesional Corticotherapy

Background: Otohematoma is common in dogs and is characterized by blood accumulation between the skin and cartilage of the outer ear. While the etiology is related to trauma, most cases have a predisposing condition. Treatment must drain the hematoma and maintain appropriate skin apposition to the ear cartilage. Treatment can be surgical, but there are also conservative options such as puncture drainage, followed by intralesional injection of glucocorticoids. This alternative method is less invasive than surgery, with an equivalent success rate. This study aimed to describe intralesional injection of corticosteroids for the treatment of dogs with otohematoma at a veterinary clinic.Materials, Methods & Results: Otohematoma was diagnosed and treated in 23 dogs (14 males and 9 females, weighing 9.6 ± 2.7 kg) at a reference private veterinary clinic. The dogs were chemically restrained, and their ears were cleaned with chlorhexidine. The lower face of each ear with otohematoma was then punctured with a needle coupled to a syringe to drain the liquid. Following drainage, the equipment was removed and the collected liquid volume was measured. A 0.5 mg/kg dose of methylprednisolone acetate was prepared and diluted in saline (0.9% NaCl) to a volume equivalent to 1/10 of the previously drained content volume from the otohematoma. The prepared solution was then injected into the drained ear. Additionally, each patient was treated for the original cause of the otohematoma, according to conventional protocols. Eight animals (34.78%) had bilateral otohematoma and 15 (65.22%) presented with unilateral lesions. Leukocytosis was observed in most patients. Other laboratory alterations present in the studied dogs were thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and anemia. Twenty (86.96%) patients presented with otitis externa. All patients were reassessed one week after the initial treatment, and 19 (82.60%) fully recovered. The remaining 4 (17.40%) required a new procedure to drain a small accumulation of liquid. Patients were then reassessed on the 15th day when full recovery was observed in 2 (8.7%). The remaining two (8.7%) underwent new drainage on the 15th day, accompanied by a new infusion of corticosteroids, returning recovered on the 21st day.Discussion: Consistent with the previous reports, unilateral otohematomas were more frequently observed in the present study. In most animals, the cause of otohematoma was otitis externa. This disease causes intense itching that leads to autotrauma, resulting in the rupture of vessels and accumulation of fluid between the skin and cartilage of the ear. Leukocytosis detected in the majority of patients was related to external otitis. The other hematological changes observed are common in the disease. The objectives of otohematoma therapy in dogs are to identify and eliminate the source of auricular pruritus, provide adequate drainage of the hematoma content, and maintain the appropriate apposition between the skin and cartilage in the ear. In all 23 patients in this study, these aims were met, culminating in favorable outcomes. The described method led to recovery for most patients (82.60%) in the first week and a success rate of 100% by the end of 21 days. These results observed in animal patients are similar to those seen in humans, where drainage leads to total regression of the disease. Glucocorticoids were chosen for treatment of otohematoma because of their anti-inflammatory effects. Additionally, methylprednisolone acetate, an ester whose absorption was very slow, was used to allow for a longer anti-inflammatory effect

Tratamento cirúrgico de lesões orais e faciais causadas por projétil balístico em cão da raça Pit Bull: relato de caso

Os ferimentos causados por arma de fogo em cães costumam provocar lesões severas e podem ser fatais. A avaliação clínica é fundamental para a averiguação da trajetória do projétil, bem como seus efeitos e os danos sofridos pelo paciente. Este artigo descreve as características de um complexo ferimento facial em um cão da raça Pit Bull, causado por projétil balístico. O exame radiográfico confirmou a presença do projétil, que perfurou a face na região maxilar esquerda, penetrando a região nasal e causando avulsão de quatro dentes. O projétil seguiu em direção à rama mandibular esquerda, onde deixou resíduos de chumbo e ricocheteou, instalando-se definitivamente na porção médio-lateral da base da língua, de onde foi removido cirurgicamente. O impacto afetou os três dentes molares inferiores esquerdos, fraturando os dois primeiros, e seus fragmentos e raízes tiveram de ser removidos cirurgicamente. O paciente foi acompanhado ao longo de um ano, evoluindo para plena recuperação já no primeiro mês após a intervençã

A serological and molecular investigation of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in dogs, three years after an outbreak in the Northwest of Paraná State, Brazil Investigação sorológica e molecular da leishmaniose tegumentar americana em cães, três anos após um surto, no Noroeste do Estado do Paraná, Brasil

Classic and molecular (polymerase chain reaction - PCR) techniques were used to diagnose American cutaneous leishmaniasis in 149 dogs from an area in the northwest of Paraná State, Brazil, where an American cutaneous leishmaniasis outbreak occurred in 2002. The results were compared to a set of previously obtained results. Twenty-five dogs had positive indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) (titers > 40), including two animals with suggestive lesions. The percentage of dogs with positive IIF was similar to that found in a previous study. The cultures of the lesion, blood and bone marrow were negative for Leishmania. A direct search for the parasite in the lesions proved negative, although PCR tests were positive. The PCR did not detect the DNA of Leishmania (Viannia) in the blood, even for those that had positive PCR in a previous study. The follow up of the 27 dogs showed that the majority of them had maintained the same levels of antibodies that had been detected previously. There was a reduction in the number of dogs with lesions, probably due to the transmission control measures that were adopted after the outbreak.Neste estudo, utilizaram-se técnicas clássicas e moleculares (reação em cadeia da polimerase - PCR) para o diagnóstico da leishmaniose tegumentar americana em 149 cães de uma área no noroeste do Estado do Paraná, Brasil, onde ocorreu um surto de leishmaniose tegumentar americana em 2002; os resultados foram comparados aos obtidos anteriormente. Vinte e cinco cães tiveram a imunofluorescência indireta (IFI) positiva (títulos > 40), incluindo dois animais com lesão sugestiva. O percentual de cães com IFI positiva foi semelhante aos encontrados nos inquéritos anteriores. As culturas dos materiais de lesão, sangue e medula óssea foram negativas para Leishmania. A pesquisa direta do parasito em lesão foi negativa, no entanto a PCR foi positiva. A PCR não detectou DNA de Leishmania (Viannia) no sangue dos cães estudados, mesmo naqueles que tiveram PCR positiva no estudo anterior. O acompanhamento de 27 animais mostrou que a maioria deles permaneceu com os mesmos níveis de anticorpos detectados anteriormente. Houve redução do número de cães com lesões, provavelmente em virtude das medidas de controle da transmissão adotadas após o surto de 2002