Asher Ahmed Mashhood, Khalid Hussain.
Efficacy of Allopurinol Compared with Pentostam in the Treatment of Old World Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;11(6):367-70.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of allopurinol, a uricosuric compunde antimony compounds. Design: Randomized comparative clinical trial. Setting: Skin department, PNS, Shifa, Karachi. Subjects and Methods: Forty patients suffering from old world cutaneous leishmaniasis were randomly divided in two groups of 20 patients each. The diagnosis was confirmed by direct microscopy of the smear or leishmania culture. The first group received pentostam injection and the second group was given zyloric (allopurinol) tablets. The duration of treatment in both groups was 2 weeks. Results: At the end of the study 70% of the patients on allopurinol and 85% on pentostam got cured. There was no significant side effect noted in either of the two groups. Conclusion: Allopurinol is quite an effective drug for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Pakistan.

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