Chagas cardiomyopathy and serologic testing in a small rural hospital in Chiapas, Mexico.
OBJECTIVE
To conduct a study in a small rural hospital located in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, to: (1) examine the prevalence of chagasic cardiomyopathy among patients with the diagnosis of congestive heart failure and (2) assess the prevalence of positive serologic results in blood donors in the hospital, in an attempt to ascertain whether Chagas' disease remains an important cause of heart failure at least in some areas of Mexico.


METHODS
The study of patients with cardiomyopathy was conducted by retrospective chart review of patients with the diagnosis of congestive heart failure treated at the hospital during the years 2000-2002. With the blood donors, the results of their serologic screening were reviewed for a six-month period beginning in April 2002. Serologic testing was done in both groups with either indirect hemagglutination (IHA) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), or with both.


RESULTS
Of 67 patients with heart failure and no risk factors for other causes of heart failure, 40 of them had serologic tests performed. Thirty-three of these 40 (82.5%) were positive by ELISA, IHA, or both. With 97 blood donors, one or both serologic tests were positive in 17 of them (17.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
This research adds to the evidence that Chagas' disease continues to be a major cause of heart failure in some areas of Mexico and that there continues to be a risk of transmission by blood transfusion if donated blood is not consistently screened.
Capps
Linnea
L
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons/Harlem Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America. lc9@columbia.edu
Abad
Begoña
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006780:Hospitals, Rural; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012698:Serologic Tests