Samanta Anwesha, Patra Diyasha, Chaudhury Abhijit, Saha Pabitra, Sardar Ashif Ali, Halder Supriya, Maji Ardhendu Kumar, Guha Subhasish Kamal, Das Sonali
Department of Microbiology, Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, Haldia, West Bengal, India.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Haldia Institute of Dental Science and Research, Haldia, West Bengal, India.
Trop Parasitol. 2025 Jan-Jun;15(1):42-51. doi: 10.4103/tp.tp_47_24. Epub 2025 Apr 5.
Nutritional status played significant roles in preventing infection of pathogens, expression of disease severity, and prognosis following treatment. Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting the poorest people and is generally undernourished. In the Indian subcontinent, malnutrition is found to be associated with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) but such reports for post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) are not available.
Assessment of nutritional status among PKDL cases from West Bengal, India.
PKDL cases were searched by door-to-door visits. The nutritional status of the study participants was assessed by analyzing clinical, anthropometrical, and biochemical parameters. The data were analyzed using standard statistical methods with Minitab software.
A total of 42 PKDL (Group A), 38 with VL history (Group B), and 80 healthy control participants (Group C) were included. We noticed a higher rate of ocular and dermal abnormalities due to Vitamin A deficiency among PKDL patients. A lower range of body mass index was recorded among both Group A and B. The mean hemoglobin and Vitamin B12 level of Group A were significantly lower than Group C. The mean white blood cell count was significantly higher in Group A than other two groups.
The study revealed that PKDL patients were undernourished as evident by few clinical, anthropometrical, and biochemical parameters. The initiative of providing nutrient-rich food during the treatment of leishmaniasis by the Government of West Bengal is justified. A case-control study is highly suggested to evaluate the impact of such food supply during treatment on disease prognosis.
营养状况在预防病原体感染、疾病严重程度的表现以及治疗后的预后方面发挥着重要作用。利什曼病是一种影响最贫困人口的被忽视的热带疾病，这些人群普遍营养不良。在印度次大陆，营养不良被发现与内脏利什曼病（VL）有关，但关于黑热病后皮肤利什曼病（PKDL）的此类报告尚无。
评估印度西孟加拉邦PKDL病例的营养状况。
通过挨家挨户走访来搜寻PKDL病例。通过分析临床、人体测量和生化参数来评估研究参与者的营养状况。使用Minitab软件采用标准统计方法对数据进行分析。
共纳入42例PKDL患者（A组）、38例有VL病史的患者（B组）和80名健康对照参与者（C组）。我们注意到PKDL患者中因维生素A缺乏导致的眼部和皮肤异常发生率较高。A组和B组的体重指数范围均较低。A组的平均血红蛋白和维生素B12水平显著低于C组。A组的平均白细胞计数显著高于其他两组。
该研究表明，从一些临床、人体测量和生化参数来看，PKDL患者存在营养不良。西孟加拉邦政府在利什曼病治疗期间提供营养丰富食物的举措是合理的。强烈建议进行一项病例对照研究，以评估治疗期间此类食物供应对疾病预后的影响。
