Congenital Chagas' disease: diagnostic and clinical aspects. NLM AIDSLINE Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

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Congenital Chagas' disease: diagnostic and clinical aspects.

Clin Infect Dis. 1995 Sep;21(3):551-5. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/96077372
Freilij H; Altcheh J; Parasitology Laboratory, Ricardo Gutierrez Children's Hospital,; Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Abstract: The diagnostic and clinical aspects of congenital Chagas' disease were studied in 71 children in Buenos Aires. The children's ages ranged from 2 days to 10 years. In infants < 6 months old, the disease was diagnosed by detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in the blood; the microhematocrit test was positive in 38 (97.4%) of 39 cases. This test was the fastest and most reliable diagnostic method in this group, whereas two conventional serological methods were useful in children > or = 6 months of age. Forty-six (64.8%) of the 71 children had no clinical signs of infection. The clinical sign most frequently documented was hepatomegaly (18.3%). Three children were coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus; the latter infection was severe in two instances. Nifurtimox (10-15 mg/[kg.d] for 2 months) was used for parasiticidal treatment, and use of this drug resulted in mild adverse effects.
Keywords: Animal Antibodies, Protozoan/BLOOD Argentina Chagas Disease/*CONGENITAL/DIAGNOSIS/DRUG THERAPY Child Child, Preschool Disease Transmission, Vertical Female Human Infant Infant, Newborn Male Nifurtimox/ADVERSE EFFECTS/THERAPEUTIC USE Parasitemia/DIAGNOSIS Pregnancy Serodiagnosis Trypanocidal Agents/ADVERSE EFFECTS/THERAPEUTIC USE Trypanosoma cruzi/IMMUNOLOGY/ISOLATION & PURIF JOURNAL ARTICLEKWDanimalantibodies,protozoan/bloodargentinachagasdisease/
960430
M9640836

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