Serological diagnosis of Chagas disease in HIV-infected patients

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 48; no. 3; pp. 331 - 333
• Main Authors: Stauffert, Dulce, da Silveira, Mariângela Freitas, Mesenburg, Marilia Arndt, Gaspar, Thiago, Manta, Adriane Brod, Bicca, Guilherme Lucas de Oliveira, Villela, Marcos Marreiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT 01-06-2015; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; AIDS; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - diagnosis; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - epidemiology; Brazil - epidemiology; Chagas Disease - diagnosis; Chagas Disease - epidemiology; Coinfection; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Serologic Tests; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Trypanosoma cruzi; Brazil; AIDS; Coinfection; Trypanosoma cruzi
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849; 1678-9849; 0037-8682
• DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0268-2014

This study assessed the rate of request for the serological diagnosis of Chagas disease among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients treated at the Specialized Care Service of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
This cross-sectional study used secondary data obtained from the medical records of 252 patients aged between 18 and 75 years.
The serological diagnosis of Chagas disease was requested only in 3.2% of cases.
The results demonstrate poor adherence to protocols on the part of healthcare professionals, indicating the need to reevaluate the procedures applied to HIV-infected patients from endemic regions for both diseases.