Comparison of the Efficacy of Infrared Heat Therapy with Cryotherapy as an Adjunct to Meglumine Antimoniate in the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Objective: To compare the efficacy of infrared heat therapy with cryotherapy as an adjunct to Meglumine Antimoniate in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis Study Design: Quasi-experimental study Place and duration of study: Combined Military Hospital, Quetta, Pakistan, from Jan to Jun 2024. Methodology: Eligible participants were aged 18 years or older with confirmed cutaneous leishmaniasis. Participants were assigned to three treatment arms: cryotherapy with meglumine, meglumine alone, and infrared heat therapy with meglumine. The primary outcome was clinical cure after 2 months of therapy. Results: The mean age of the participants was 28.6±9.2years. Most of the participants were male, comprising 87.5% of the patients. The duration of the disease among the participants was 3.6 months on average. On average, each participant had 4.7 lesions. 28 participants (87.5%)achieved a clinical cure in the group treated with cryotherapy and meglumine. 26 participants(81.2%)achieved a clinical cure in the group treated with infrared heat therapy and meglumine. Among those treated with meglumine alone,22 participants(68.7%)achieved a clinical cure. The p-value indicates a statistically significant difference in clinical cure rates among the treatment groups, with a value less than 0.05. Conclusion: Combination therapy of meglumine with infrared heat and cryotherapy achieved better clinical cure when compared to meglumine alone.