Prevalencia de Leishmaniasis cutánea y características demográficas en pacientes del Distrito 13D03 Cantón Jipijapa.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, transmitted through the bite of infected phlebotomine sand flies belonging to the subfamily Phlebotominae. It is characterized by chronic cutaneous ulcers with raised borders that frequently produce permanent scars as clinical sequelae. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis and the demographic characteristics of patients evaluated at District 13D03, Jipijapa Canton, from 2022 to 2024. A non-experimental, descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach was conducted. Fifty-seven participants were included based on clinical suspicion and according to the criteria established by the Human Research Ethics Committee. The results showed a cutaneous leishmaniasis prevalence of 56.1% (n=32) over the study period; however, the annual prevalence was 50% in 2022, 66.7% in 2023, and 50% in 2024. Regarding anatomical location, the lower limbs were most affected (53.1%, n=17), followed by the upper limbs (34.4%, n=11). An analysis of associations between sociodemographic variables and gender revealed no significant relationship between gender and age groups (p=0.24) or between gender and place of residence (p=0.75); however, a statistically significant association was found between gender and occupation (p=0.003). It is concluded that active transmission of the disease persists in the study area, highlighting the need to strengthen preventive strategies and community-based epidemiological surveillance.