Human visceral leishmaniasis: from diagnosis to treatment

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan of the genus Leishmania, which affects millions of individuals, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, and is therefore responsible for high mortality and morbidity. Due to the relevance of this pathology, the objective was to build a literature review with emphasis on its diagnosis and treatment, addressing its clinical-pathological characteristics. The bibliographic research was built based on the analysis of articles from the electronic databases SciELO (Scientific Library Eletronic) and PUBMED. In men, the disease is characterized clinically and laboratorially by fever, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia and changes in the cellular immune response, affecting mainly children. The disease is usually fatal when left untreated, and death results from complications such as secondary bacterial infections and coagulation disorders. The diagnosis is routinely made based on clinical and epidemiological parameters, associated with parasitological, serological and immunological methods. As for treatment, antimonial compounds are still the drugs of choice for the treatment of the disease. Of all the great endemics, leishmaniasis are certainly the ones with the greatest number of knowledge gaps and for this reason many doubts still need to be clarified.