Parasitosis Cutánea: Tipos, Manifestaciones, Diagnóstico y Tratamiento

Parasitosis Cutanea: Types, Manifestations, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Introduction

Parasitosis cutanea, or cutaneous parasitic infestations, refer to conditions where parasites invade the skin, causing various symptoms and manifestations. These infestations can be classified into three broad categories: protozoans, helminths, and ectoparasites. The transmission of these parasites is usually through the skin, and they may cause cutaneous pathologies, although not all parasites that are transmitted via skin contact will result in cutaneous symptoms. In this article, we will focus on the types of parasitic infestations, their cutaneous manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment.

Types of Parasitic Infestations

Protozoans

Protozoans are single-celled microorganisms that cause parasitic infestations. They include species such as Leishmania, which can cause cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by papules, nodules, plaques, and diverse ulcerations.

Helminths

Helminths are multicellular worm-like parasites that can cause cutaneous infestations. Examples include nematodes (roundworms) and cestodes (tapeworms). Nematodes can cause diseases such as scabies, which is characterized by an intensely itchy rash caused by skin penetration.

Ectoparasites

Ectoparasites are parasites that live on the surface of their host, such as ticks and mites. They can cause cutaneous infestations, leading to symptoms like intense itching, skin rashes, and sores.

Cutaneous Manifestations

Protozoans

Protozoans can cause various cutaneous manifestations, such as papules, nodules, plaques, and diverse ulcerations. These manifestations can result from direct invasion of the skin or from the host's immune response to the parasite.

Helminths

Helminth infestations can cause various cutaneous symptoms, including intense itching, skin rashes, and sores. Scabies, for example, is caused by Sarcoptes scabiei and can lead to a severe itching rash.

Ectoparasites

Ectoparasites can cause cutaneous manifestations such as skin rashes, sores, and crawling sensations on the skin. Morgellons disease, a form of delusional parasitosis, is characterized by the sensation that fibers are emerging from the skin.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of cutaneous parasitic infestations typically involves a combination of clinical examination, epidemiological data, and laboratory testing. Methods for diagnosis include direct parasitological examination (microscopy, histopathology, and parasite culture), serology, and molecular diagnostics. The selection of the diagnostic test employed often depends on the available infrastructure and resources of the diagnostic facility.

Treatment

Treatment for cutaneous parasitic infestations often involves the use of specific drugs to disrupt the function of the target parasite. In cases where secondary infections are induced by the parasite itself, antibiotics may also be used in tandem with the primary treatment to deal with the infection. For example, cutaneous leishmaniasis can be treated with antileishmanial drugs such as miltefosine, paromomycin, and pentamidine.

Conclusion

Cutaneous parasitic infestations can cause a range of symptoms and manifestations, depending on the type of parasite involved. Diagnosis and treatment typically involve a combination of clinical examination, laboratory testing, and drug-based therapies. The development of non-drug based anti-parasitic strategies is an area of ongoing research to address the issue of drug resistance and improve the overall management of cutaneous parasitic infestations.