Leishmaniasis: Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Visceral Leishmaniasis

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

Liver, gallbladder and bile ducts – pancreas (pancreas) (K70-K77; K80-K87).

  • Hepatosplenomegaly (enlargement of the liver and spleen).

Further

  • Other diseases with fever

Cutaneous leishmaniasis

Blood-forming organs – immune system (D50-D90).

  • Sarcoidosis of the skin – here: Erythema nodosum (synonyms: nodular erythema, dermatitis contusiformis, erythema contusiforme; plural: erythemata nodosa) (25% of cases of sarcoidosis) – granulomatous inflammation of the subcutis (subcutaneous fat tissue), also known as panniculitis, and a pressure-dolent (painful) nodule (red to blue-red color; later brownish). The overlying skin is reddened (= erythematous).Localization: both lower leg extensor sides, at the knee and ankle joints; less frequently on the arms or buttocks.

Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99).

  • Ecthyma – bacterial infection of the epidermis; usually caused by streptococci, less commonly by staphylococci (here v. a. Staphylococcus aureus).
  • Impetigo contagiosa (bork lichen; pus lichen) – by streptococci of serogroup A (GAS, group A streptococci) triggered highly infectious, not bound to the skin appendages (hair follicles, sweat glands), purulent infection of the skin (pyoderma).

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

  • Frambösia – non-venereal infectious disease of the tropical treponematosis group occurring in tropical regions.
  • Leprosy – tropical infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, which occurs mainly on the skin and nerves.
  • Local infections such as boils
  • Non-tuberculous mycobacteria → atypical mycobacteriosis (e.g. “swimming pool granuloma” caused by Mycobacterium marinum).
  • Mycoses (fungal diseases)
  • Syphilis (lues)
  • Tuberculosis – here. Lupus vulgaris (most common form of cutaneous tuberculosis; post-primary form of cutaneous tuberculosis with reddish-brownish nodules).

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).

  • Basal cell carcinoma (BCC; basal cell carcinoma) – semimalignant neoplasm of the skin (= tumors show locally destructive, invasive growth, but rarely metastasis/formation of daughter tumors).
  • Lymphoma, cutaneous (lymphoma arising in the skin).
  • Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin

Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).

  • Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly Wegener’s granulomatosis – necrotizing (tissue dying) vasculitis (vascular inflammation) of small to medium-sized vessels (small-vessel vasculitides) associated with granuloma (nodule) formation in the upper respiratory tract (nose, sinuses, middle ear, oropharynx) as well as the lower respiratory tract (lungs)