Epidemiological features, echocardiographic findings, and parasite load in patients with Chagas disease

• Autor(a) principal: Arruda, Hilda Maria Benevides da Silva de
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Ribeiro, Marcelle Araújo, Silva, Antonia Marilene da, Vasconcelos, Daniel, Oliveira, Maria Regina Fernandes de, Noronha, Elza Ferreira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UnB
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.unb.br/handle/10482/36246; https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0541-2018; http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2338-4102
• topic: Epidemiologia; Hospitais universitários; Chagas, Doença de

INTRODUCTION Chagas disease is a major public health problem that is endemic in Brazil and Latin America. This study aimed to determine the socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 171 patients (mean age, 45 years; female, 65%) with Chagas disease at Hospital Universitário de Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. METHODS We implemented this cross-sectional study using a clinical epidemiological questionnaire, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and quantitative detection of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in blood using qRT-PCR. RESULTS Among the patients, 26.3% had a full elementary education, and 13.2% were illiterate. Most (63.6%) were economically classified as class C, and 51.5% were born in Bahia state. A total of 62.0% participants reported previous contact with the triatomine bug. The clinical forms of the disease were indeterminate (69.51%), cardiac (15.24%), digestive (10.37%), and mixed (4.88%). The most common electrocardiographic abnormality was complete right bundle branch block in association with a divisional anterosuperior block. Only 14.6% of the patients complied with benznidazole medication for at least 60 days, and 164 of them were assessed by echocardiography. The parasite load was positive in 56% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Chagas disease affected mostly women, with the indeterminate chronic form of the disease.