Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 15 4 2020 12 06 495 499 Seyed Aliakbar SHAMSIAN Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran AND Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR), Mashhad, Iran Abdolmajid FATA Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran AND Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran Reza ALINEZHAD Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Mehdi MOHEBALI Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh SADABADI Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Elham MOGHADDAS Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Mahdi FAKHAR Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran 2020 12 06 Background: Over the last decade, a few cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been reported in some provinces of northeastern Iran. We aimed to investigate clinical and laboratory findings of VL among children who admitted to the pediatric ward in a referral hospital in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. Methods: A retrospective study, between 1997 and 2017, was performed on the data sheet registered for children with confirmed VL at the referral Emam Reza Hospital in Mashhad. Hematological and biochemical profiles of the patients were analyzed. Results: Thirty-five children with VL, confirmed by the presence of amastigotes of Leishmania in Giemsa stained smears of the bone marrow, had been recorded through 20 yr. The mean age of patients was 3.7±4 yr. The majority of the patients suffered from hepatosplenomegaly (100%, n=35/35), followed by prolonged fever and pallor (91%, n=32/35), weight loss (85%, n=30/35). The main laboratory findings were anemia (94.1%), leukopenia (52.9%) and thrombocytopenia (70.5%). Almost one-third (37.1%; 13/35) of VL patients inhabited in rural areas of the Bojnoord district as a known VL endemic focus in northeastern Iran. Conclusion: Our preliminary data showed that the origin of VL is still in some districts other than Mashhad, where VL just will be diagnosed. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/3170 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/3170/1086