Using a Chagas disease hospital database: a clinical and epidemiological patient profile

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Chagas disease (CD) prevention and control rely on studies of its distribution, characteristics of individuals affected and mode of transmission. CD data in Brazil are scarce; a retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics of 80 patients treated at the Clinical Hospital of UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil, was performed.

METHODS:

Patient data records were analyzed.

RESULTS:

Thirty percent of the patients probably got infected through vector-borne transmission, 65% came from endemic areas, a predominance of cardiac and cardiodigestive forms was found among males, and the cardiac form prevailed (51%).

CONCLUSIONS:

The results update the view on the epidemiology of CD in Campinas, Brazil.

Keywords:
Trypanosoma cruzi; Chagas disease; Clinical forms