RESUMO
The authors report four cases of acute chagasic myocarditis which had been diagnosed and treated in Cayenne, French Guiana, in the past 6 years. This French territory, which has the highest standard of living in South America, should be considered an area of risk for sporadic Chagas disease with epidemiologic features similar to those of the disease found in dense Amazon forest areas. Appropriate measures must be taken to screen and promptly manage Chagas disease in the French Guiana population.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/sangue , Cardiomiopatia Chagásica , Miocardite , Trypanosoma cruzi/isolamento & purificação , Adulto , Animais , Cardiomiopatia Chagásica/epidemiologia , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Feminino , Guiana Francesa/epidemiologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Miocardite/epidemiologia , Trypanosoma cruzi/imunologiaRESUMO
After a brief review of Chagas' disease history in French Guiana, the authors report the first autochthonous case of Chagas' cardiopathy found in this country since 1956. The diagnostic suspected through epidemiological, clinical, electrocardiographical and echocardiographical data, was corroborated by serology and by the discovery of an apical aneurysm at post mortem examination of the heart.