TREATMENT OF CHRONIC CHAGAS-DISEASE WITH BENZNIDAZOLE - CLINICAL AND SEROLOGIC EVOLUTION OF PATIENTS WITH LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP

Prescribing etiologic treatment for chronic Chagas' disease is highly controversial because of the difficulties involved in assessing its th erapeutic efficacy-the low degree of parasitemia, the persistence of p ositive immunologic reactions, the lack of clinical findings to suppor t each type of treatment, and the necessarily prolonged follow-up of t he patient. An 8-year average follow-up was performed on 131 patients treated with benznidazole (5 mg/kg/day for 30 days) (TP) and 70 untrea ted patients (UTP) by serial electrocardiograms and analysis of the ca rdiomyopathic progress of the clinical groups, and by immunologic test s at both the beginning and end of the study. Tps presented less elect rocardiographic changes during the follow-up period (4.2% vs 30%) and a lower frequency of deterioration in their clinical condition (2.1% v s 17%). The percentage of Tps who were serorogically negative was 19.1 % whereas 6% of the UTPs became seroiogically negative, a result that correlated with a lack of progress in the cardiomyopathy. Benznidazole treatment significantly decreased serologic titers, signifying parasi tologic cure in two patients.