593 Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 49(5):593-601, September-October, 2016 doi:10.1590/0037-8682-0208-2016 Major Article Corresponding author: Dra. Thaís Gomes Verzignassi Silveira. e-mail: tgvsilveira@uem.br Received 25 May 2016 Accepted 23 September 2016 Clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic characteristics of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the 15 th State Health Division, Northwest Paraná State, Southern Brazil Priscila Wolf Nassif [1] , Marcela Castilho-Peres [2] , Ana Paula Zanatta Rosa [3] , Aline Laureano da Silva [4] , Sandra Mara Alessi Aristides [5] , Maria Valdrinez Campana Lonardoni [5] , Jorge Juarez Vieira Teixeira [5] and Thaís Gomes Verzignassi Silveira [5] [1]. Programa de Pós-Graduação Stricto Sensu em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. [2]. 15 a Regional de Saúde de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. [3]. Faculdade Ingá, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. [4]. Consórcio Público Intermunicipal de Saúde do Setentrião Paranaense (CISAMUSEP), Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. [5]. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Biomedicina, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. Abstract Introduction: American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is an endemic disease in many regions of Brazil; however, only few reports on the actual epidemiological conditions are available. Here, we aimed to assess the clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory characteristics of ATL patients and their treatment in the 15 th Regional Health Division of Paraná State, Maringá, Brazil. Methods: This epidemiological study included patients diagnosed with ATL from January 2010 to September 2014, from the 15 th Regional Health Division database. Results: A total of 220 cases aged 3-84 years (85% male and 60.9% with up to 8 years of schooling) were included. The cases were classifed as having the cutaneous form (n=183; 83.2%), mucosal form (n=26; 11.8%), mucocutaneous form (n=11; 5%), and relapses (n=21; 9.6%). Diagnosis was made via laboratory test results in 197 (89.5%) patients, and 172 (78.2%) completed the treatment within the study period. With regard to patients with the cutaneous form, 134 (95%) were cured, 131 (97.8%) were treated with Glucantime®, and 47 (36.7%) received dosage of >15 and <20mg Sb 5+ /kg/day. Among the cases with mucosal involvement, 87.1% were cured and most were treated with <20mg Sb 5+ /kg/day. Thus, the cure rate was 93.6%. Conclusions: During the study period in the 15 th Regional Health Division of Paraná State, ATL cases had a good response to treatment with a low rate of relapse or treatment failure, although a high percentage of mucosal or mucocutaneous form cases was also noted. Keywords: Cutaneous leishmaniasis. Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis. Therapeutics. Epidemiology. INTRODUCTION Leishmaniases are zoonoses caused by more than 20 Leishmania species; more than 90 species of sand fies can transmit the parasite, and approximately 70 animal species have been found to be natural hosts of the parasite. It is estimated that 0.7-1.3 million new cases of tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) occur annually worldwide (1) . In particular, 95% of TL cases occur in the Americas, the Mediterranean basin, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of the new TL cases occur in Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, and Syria (1) . In Brazil, a total of 635,399 cases of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) were reported from 1990 to 2013, with an average detection rate of 15.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (2) . Of 13,889 reported cases in the South region, 95% were reported in the Paraná State, with an average detection rate of 5.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (3) . In Paraná State, ATL has persisted even after the original forest vegetation was replaced by coffee, soybean, corn, cotton, and pastures, and has affected individuals of all age groups and both sexes (4) (5) . In urban areas, the disease usually occurs in small areas with preserved forest cover (6) . Two circuits for ATL were identifed in Paraná State: the Paraná-Paranapanema circuit, which highlights the Ivaí-Pirapó pole where the municipalities of the 15 th Regional Health Division are located, and the Ribeira circuit (6) . In the North and Northwest regions of Paraná State, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the prevalent species responsible for ATL (7) (8) . The clinical forms of L. (V.) braziliensis infection include cutaneous, mucosal, and disseminated leishmaniasis (9) . American tegumentary leishmaniasis can be diagnosed based on clinical-epidemiological and laboratorial criteria.