Temporal changes in the clinical-epidemiological profile of patients with Chagas disease at a referral center in Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 54; p. e00402021
• Main Authors: Hasslocher-Moreno, Alejandro Marcel, Saraiva, Roberto Magalhaes, Brasil, Pedro Emmanuel Alvarenga Americano do, Sangenis, Luiz Henrique Conde, Xavier, Sergio Salles, Sousa, Andréa Silvestre de, Sperandio-da-Silva, Gilberto Marcelo, Mendes, Fernanda de Souza Nogueira Sardinha, Costa, Andréa Rodrigues da, Holanda, Marcelo Teixeira de, Veloso, Henrique Horta, Mazzoli-Rocha, Flavia, Carneiro, Fernanda Martins, Portela, Luciana Fernandes, Mediano, Mauro Felippe Felix
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT 01-01-2021; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Chagas disease; Cohort studies; Epidemiologic studies; Major; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Chagas disease; Epidemiologic studies; Cohort studies
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849; 1678-9849
• DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0040-2021

INTRODUCTIONWe aimed to describe the sociodemographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of patients with chronic Chagas disease (CD) at an infectious disease referral center. Changes in patient profiles over time were also evaluated.METHODSThis retrospective study included patients with CD from November 1986-December 2019. All patients underwent an evaluation protocol that included sociodemographic profile; epidemiological history; anamnesis; and physical, cardiologic, and digestive examinations. Trend differences for each 5-year period from 1986 to 2019 were tested using a nonparametric trend test for continuous and generalized linear models with binomial distribution for categorical variables.RESULTSA total of 2,168 patients (52.2% women) were included, with a mean age of 47.8 years old. White patients with low levels of education predominated. The reported transmission mode was vectorial in 90.2% of cases. The majority came from areas with a high prevalence (52.2%) and morbidity (67.8%) of CD. The most common clinical presentation was the indeterminate form (44.9%). The number of patients referred gradually decreased and the age at admission increased during the study period, as did the patients' levels of education.CONCLUSIONSThe clinical profile of CD is characterized by a predominance of the indeterminate form of the disease. Regarding the patients who were followed up at the referral center, there was a progressive increase in the mean age and a concomitant decrease in the number of new patients. This reflects the successful control of vector and transfusion transmission in Brazil as well as the aging population of patients with CD.