Prospective evaluation of serum pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity and troponin I concentrations in Leishmania infantum-infected dogs treated with meglumine antimonate

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an important zoonotic disease. One of the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of CanL is meglumine antimonate. Drugs of this class have been associated with pancreatitis and cardiotoxicity in humans infected with Leishmania spp. The aim of this study was to measure serum canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (Spec cPL) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations in dogs with leishmaniosis during treatment with meglumine antimonate, and to compare them with those of dogs with leishmaniosis not treated with this drug. A total of 30 non-uremic dogs with leishmaniosis, living in Greece, were prospectively enrolled into the study. Of the 30 dogs, 20 (Group A) were treated with a combination of meglumine antimonate (100 mg/kg, SC, q24h) and allopurinol (10 mg/kg, PO, q12h) for 28 days, while 10 dogs (Group B) were treated with allopurinol alone (10 mg/kg, PO, q12h) for 28 days. Blood samples were collected at timepoint 0 (before treatment) and at 14 and 28 days after the initiation of treatment. None of the dogs treated with meglumine antiomonate had a Spec cPL concentration suggestive of pancreatitis (≥400 μg/L) or clinical signs suggestive of pancreatitis at any of the timepoints. Similarly, none of the dogs treated with meglumine antiomonate had a serum cTnI concentration above the upper limit of the reference range (>0.5 ng/mL) or clinical evidence of cardiotoxicity at any of the 3 timepoints. In the present study, meglumine antimonate treatment in dogs with leishmaniosis did not result in clinical or laboratory evidence of either pancreatitis or cardiotoxicity.