title: [Clinical and epidemiological study of blood donors seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of positive antibodies for Chagas disease in a blood bank of a public hospital in Santiago is 1.2%. These positive individuals should be informed about their condition and further studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To perform a serological confirmation, an epidemiological and clinical assessment of blood donors seropositive for Chagas disease in a blood bank of Santiago.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred eleven seropositive donors, detected between 1994 and 1996, were studied. Serological reactions were confirmed with ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence reactions. Those confirmed as positive were subjected to a clinical-epidemiological questionnaire, physical examination, EKG and barium enema or swallow according to symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy individuals were confirmed as positive for Chagas disease. Most of them lived at least once in an endemic zone for Chagas disease or in a sun-dried clay brick house. Forty-percent of individuals knew reduviid bugs and 14% had been bitten by these insects. Twenty six percent of these subjects had an abnormal EKG (61% with bradycardia). No digestive diseases attributable to Chagas disease were detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of problems attributable to Chagas disease among seropositive blood donors underscores the need of an epidemiological follow up of these individuals.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Célis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: León
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: León
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Macchiavello
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tassara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denegri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lorca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D001771:Blood Banks; D001782:Blood Donors; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan