Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of cutaneous leishmaniasis and their relationship with the laboratory data, south of Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate clinical, epidemiological and laboratorial aspects for the understanding of the disease characteristics and its relationship with diagnostic tests.

Methods: A retrospective, descriptive and analytical study involving 2,660 American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) suspected patients from southern Brazil was undertaken between April 1986 and December 2005. Data on population characteristics and laboratory tests were obtained.