RESUMO
Abstract INTRODUCTION: Benznidazole is used for treating Chagas disease (CD). This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) of benznidazole at a public hospital in Brazil's Federal District. METHODS: Medical records were analyzed and ADRs were categorized by type, intensity, seriousness, and causality. RESULTS: Of the 62 patients who started benznidazole treatment for CD, 41 (66%) presented with 105 ADRs; 23 (37%) discontinued the treatment. Most reactions were classified as probable (81%), severe (63%), serious (67%), and dose-dependent (56%). CONCLUSIONS: The high incidence of ADRs because of treatment withdrawal revealed the need for safer alternatives for CD treatment.
Assuntos
Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Adulto , Tripanossomicidas/efeitos adversos , Doença de Chagas/tratamento farmacológico , Efeitos Colaterais e Reações Adversas Relacionados a Medicamentos/epidemiologia , Nitroimidazóis/efeitos adversos , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Tripanossomicidas/uso terapêutico , Índice de Gravidade de Doença , Brasil/epidemiologia , Testes de Hemaglutinação , Incidência , Estudos Transversais , Efeitos Colaterais e Reações Adversas Relacionados a Medicamentos , Hospitais Públicos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Nitroimidazóis/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Abstract INTRODUCTION Chagas disease is a major public health problem that is endemic in Brazil and Latin America. This study aimed to determine the socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 171 patients (mean age, 45 years; female, 65%) with Chagas disease at Hospital Universitário de Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. METHODS We implemented this cross-sectional study using a clinical epidemiological questionnaire, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and quantitative detection of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in blood using qRT-PCR. RESULTS Among the patients, 26.3% had a full elementary education, and 13.2% were illiterate. Most (63.6%) were economically classified as class C, and 51.5% were born in Bahia state. A total of 62.0% participants reported previous contact with the triatomine bug. The clinical forms of the disease were indeterminate (69.51%), cardiac (15.24%), digestive (10.37%), and mixed (4.88%). The most common electrocardiographic abnormality was complete right bundle branch block in association with a divisional anterosuperior block. Only 14.6% of the patients complied with benznidazole medication for at least 60 days, and 164 of them were assessed by echocardiography. The parasite load was positive in 56% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Chagas disease affected mostly women, with the indeterminate chronic form of the disease.