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Chagas disease
Background
Overview
Definition
Chagas disease is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and associated with cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, as well as megaviscera.
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Pathophysiology
Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.
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Epidemiology
The total estimated number of people with Chagas disease in the US is 238,091.
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Disease course
The transmission of the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite in the humans causes tissue damage and acute inflammatory response; with the persistence of infection, the chronic inflammatory response is elicited resulting in Romana sign, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, myocarditis, pericardial effusion, meningoencephalitis, cardiomyopathy, megaviscera, polyneuropathy, stroke, and death.
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Prognosis and risk of recurrence
The risk of mortality in advanced disease is as high as 85% at 10 years.
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Guidelines
Key sources
The following summarized guidelines for the evaluation and management of Chagas disease are prepared by our editorial team based on guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA/CDC/NIH/HIVMA 2024), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC 2022), the Center for Disease Control (CDC 2021), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO 2019), the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE ...
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