Association between blood group antigens ABO, Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy and MNS and clinical forms of Chagas disease.

Background: The mechanisms that determine the progression to cardiac or digestive forms of chronic Chagas disease (CD) are still unclear. We assessed the association between blood group antigens ABO, Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy and MNS, and chronic CD clinical forms.

Methods: Patients were included consecutively between March 2013 and April 2016.

Physical activity levels during COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors in patients with Chagas disease.

Background: A better understanding of the consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on lifestyle of patients with Chagas disease (ChD) is of paramount importance to facilitate the implementation of intervention strategies tailored to this specific population.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the level of physical activity (PA) in Chagas disease (ChD) patients during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its main associated factors.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with 187 patients of both sexes, aged ≥18 years, followed in a national infectious disease center (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

Inspiratory muscle endurance is similarly reduced in the early and late stages of chronic Chagas heart disease.

Objective: Inspiratory muscle strength (IMS) appears to be reduced in subjects with chronic Chagas heart disease (CHD), especially in the presence of heart failure (HF). However, only one study about IMS and inspiratory muscle endurance (IME) in those with CHD without heart failure is available. This study aimed to compare IMS and IME in subjects with CHD in the presence and absence of HF.

Corrigendum: Impact of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality in chagas disease patients.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.

Impact of COVID-19 In-hospital Mortality in Chagas Disease Patients.

The COVID-19 virus infection caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 was first identified in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil, in March 2020. Until the end of 2021, 504,399 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in RJ, and the total death toll reached 68,347. The Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (INI-Fiocruz) is a referral center for treatment and research of several infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and Chagas disease (CD).

Chagas disease mortality during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A Brazilian referral center experience.

Background: We investigated the mortality rates of patients with Chagas disease (CD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and assessed the association between this mortality and CD clinical presentation and comorbidities.

Methods: This was an observational retrospective study with clinical data retrieved from medical records.

Results: Comorbidities were more prevalent among patients who died from COVID-19 than those who died from other causes.

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

Introduction: We 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.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with CD from November 1986-December 2019.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and associated factors among patients with chronic Chagas disease.

The increase in life expectancy and the migration of individuals with Chagas disease (ChD) from rural to urban centers exposes them to the development of chronic-degenerative abnormalities that may increase the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of MetS and its components in individuals with chronic ChD. This is a cross-sectional study with 361 patients of both sexes, aging >18 years, followed at a national reference center (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

Progression Rate from the Indeterminate Form to the Cardiac Form in Patients with Chronic Chagas Disease: Twenty-Two-Year Follow-Up in a Brazilian Urban Cohort.

Unlabelled: Most patients with chronic Chagas disease (CD) present the indeterminate form and are at risk to develop the cardiac form. However, the actual rate of progression to the cardiac form is still unknown.

Methods: In total, 550 patients with the indeterminate CD form were followed by means of annual electrocardiogram at our outpatient clinic.

Impact of pharmaceutical care on the quality of life of patients with heart failure due to chronic Chagas disease: Randomized clinical trial.

Aims: Chronic Chagas disease (ChD) has high morbimortality and loss in quality of life due to heart failure (HF). Pharmaceutical care (PC) optimizes clinical treatment and can improve quality of life in HF. We evaluated if PC improves quality of life of patients with ChD and HF.

Cardiosphere-derived cells do not improve cardiac function in rats with cardiac failure.

Background: Heart failure represents an important public health issue due to its high costs and growing incidence worldwide. Evidence showing the regenerative potential of postmitotic heart tissue has suggested the existence of endogenous cardiac stem cells in adult hearts. Cardiosphere-derived cells (CDC) constitute a candidate pool of such cardiac stem cells.

A clinical adverse drug reaction prediction model for patients with chagas disease treated with benznidazole.

Benznidazole (BZN) is the main trypanocidal drug used to treat Chagas disease, and the evidence supporting the benefits of BZN use during the chronic phase of the disease will favor its use in millions of individuals. However, more than 30% of patients treated with BZN may suffer adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and the development of tools to identify those patients at risk is highly desirable. In the present study, we aimed to identify predictive factors for ADRs in Chagas disease patients treated with BZN.