by Zijlstra E, Liberton N, Musa AM, te Slaa S, Wolff J. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2019, 0(0): 1-3. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0370
Summary: Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis is a skin condition that may occur after successful treatment of visceral leishmaniasis. There are no reliable biomarkers, so response to antileishmanial therapy is assessed clinically (decrease in size or change in colour of lesions), which is invariably subjective. Novel 3-dimensional optical scanning devices offer safe and field-adapted methods to objectively assess skin lesions for changes over time that can be quantified with great accuracy. This technology may potentially be used to diagnose and monitor a range of tropical dermatological conditions resulting from fungal, bacterial, and parasitic infections as well as non-infectious conditions such as vitiligo and burn injuries.