title: I Latin American Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas' heart disease: executive summary.
abstract: Much has been achieved in one century after Carlos Chagas' discovery. However, there is surely much to be done in the next decades. At present, we are witnessing many remarkable efforts to monitor the epidemiology of the disease, to better understand the biology of the T. cruzi and its interaction with human beings as well as the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the complications in the chronic phase, and deal more appropriately and effectively with late cardiac and digestive manifestations. Although the vector and transfusion-derived transmission of the disease has been controlled in many countries, there remains a pressing need for sustained surveillance of the measures that led to this achievement. It is also necessary to adopt initiatives that enable appropriate management of social and medical conditions resulting from the migration of infected individuals to countries where the disease formerly did not exist. It's also necessary to standardize the most reliable methods of detection of infection with T. cruzi, not only for diagnosis purposes, but more crucially, as a cure criterion. The etiological treatment of millions of patients in the chronic stage of the disease is also to be unraveled. A renewed interest in this area is observed, including prospects of studies focusing on the association of drugs with benznidazole. We also wait for full evidence of the actual effectiveness of the etiological treatment to impact favorably on the natural history of the disease in its chronic phase. Eventually, cardiologists are primarily responsible for improving the clinical management of their patients with Chagas' disease, judiciously prescribing drugs and interventions that respect, as much as possible, the peculiar pathophysiology of the disease, wasting no plausible therapeutic opportunities.
authors.affiliation: Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jadelson Pinheiro de
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: Jose Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marin Neto
authors.forename: Angelo Amato Vincenzo de
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Paola
authors.forename: Fábio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vilas-Boas
authors.forename: Glaucia Maria Moraes
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bacal
authors.forename: Edimar Alcides
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Bocchi
authors.forename: Dirceu Rodrigues
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Abilio Augusto
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Fragata Filho
authors.forename: Maria da Consolação Vieira
authors.initials: Mda C
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: Sergio Salles
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Xavier
authors.forename: Wilson Alves de
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Oliveira Junior
authors.forename: João Carlos Pinto
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dias
mesh_terms: D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans