A Correlative Study of Splenic Parasite Score and Peripheral Blood Parasite Load Estimation by Quantitative PCR in Visceral Leishmaniasis

Parasitological diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) by splenic smear is highly sensitive, but it is associated with the risk of severe hemorrhage. In this study, the diagnosis of VL using quantitative PCR (qPCR) in peripheral blood was evaluated in 100 patients with VL. Blood parasitemia ranged from 5 to 93,688 leishmania parasite genomes/ml of blood and positively correlated with splenic score (P<0.0001; r2=0.58). Therefore, quantification of parasite genomes by qPCR can replace invasive procedures for diagnostic and prognostic evaluations.