A simple efficacious topical treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still an unresolved challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the topical use of thioxolone plus benzoxonium chloride (Thio-Ben) tincture in combination with cryotherapy in comparison with intralesional meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) along with cryotherapy in treating anthroponotic CL (ACL). The study was conducted in Leishmaniasis Center in Dadbin Health Care Clinic, Kerman, Iran. Sixty-four CL lesions were randomly assigned to receive Thio-Ben plus cryotherapy (TC) (n = 32) or Glucantime plus cryotherapy (GC) (n = 32). Thio-Ben was used topically every other day and Glucantime was used intralesionally once a week for a maximum of 3 months. In both study groups, cryotherapy was administered using liquid nitrogen once every 2 weeks. Of 64 recruited lesions, 47 lesions completed the study protocol. Twenty lesions (91%) in TC group and 23 lesions (92%) in GC group showed complete cure. TC group showed faster clinical response. Pain, hypersensitivity reaction, dizziness, and nausea were only seen in GC group. This study showed that the topical use of Thio-Ben combined with cryotherapy has a good efficacy in treating ACL with the benefit that Thio-Ben has more patient compliance and less side effects than intralesional Glucantime.

Liquid N cryotherapy is superior to CO cryotherapy, and it can be an effective method for controlling L. major infection. Further investigations are essential to find optimal number of treatment sessions and time intervals.

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, painful, and severely debilitating inflammatory disease that affects apocrine gland-bearing skin. There is no universal consensus on the management of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Current available guidelines are from western countries, which may be of limited use in other parts of the world. In this study, we aim to identify trends in the management of HS in the Middle East (ME) and its differences with the West. Methods A systematic literature review was performed to identify all studies in HS management performed by experts in the ME from database inception to June 2020 using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. Only original articles published in English language were included. Guidelines from western countries were used for comparison.Results Fifty-four eligible studies comprising 7649 HS patients from the ME region and nine guidelines from the West were included. No established guidelines were found for the management of HS in the ME. Sex ratio of HS patients in the ME is different in that men reported to be affected at a higher rate than in the West. Different antibiotic regimens were recommended in the ME, and the experts in the ME tend to be more procedure intensive than experts in the West.Conclusions Establishing a guideline for HS management in the ME is recommended to address unique considerations in the countries in this region.There is no universal consensus on the best management of HS. 4,5 Although several guidelines are available for clinicians, most of these are from experts in western countries. There is a shortage of such guidelines for non-western countries. This shortage is particularly significant given that ethnicity as well as genetic, environmental, and cultural factors can all affect the clinical course of the disease and therapeutic options. As such, we aim to review approaches to HS management in the Middle East (ME) and compare them with those of the West, providing recommendations for HS management in the ME region. MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive literature search for HS management guidelines from database inception (April 1992) to