Successful treatment of antimony-resistant visceral leishmaniasis with liposomal amphotericin B in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus

Abstract

We describe two cases of visceral leishmaniasis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); both cases were resistant to antimony compounds but were cured with liposomal amphotericin B, with no significant toxicity. A review of the previous reported cases of antimony-resistant visceral leishmaniasis in HIV-infected patients confirmed the effectiveness of treatment with liposomal amphotericin B, which directly targets infected macrophages and reaches high levels in plasma and tissue.