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Sustainable Development Goals
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- IOC - Artigos de Periódicos [12978]
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CHRONIC PHASE OF CHAGAS DISEASE: WHY SHOULD IT BE TREATED? A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
Fase crônica
Quimioterapia
Novas estratégias
Combinação de medicamentos
chronic phase
chemotherapy
new strategies
repeated treatment
combination of drugs
Affilliation
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Abstract
The pathogenesis and evolutive pattern of Chagas disease suggests that the chronic phase should be more
widely treated in order to (i) eliminate Trypanosoma cruzi and prevent new inflammatory foci and the extension
of tissue lesions, (ii) promote tissue regeneration to prevent fibrosis, (iii) reverse existing fibrosis, (iv) prevent
cardiomyopathy, megaoesophagus and megacolon and (v) reduce or eliminate cardiac block and arrhythmia.
All cases of the indeterminate chronic form of Chagas disease without contraindications due to other concomitant
diseases or pregnancy should be treated and not only cases involving children or recently infected cases.
Patients with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy grade II of the New York Heart Association classification should be
treated with specific chemotherapy and grade III can be treated according to medical-patient decisions. We are
proposing the following new strategies for chemotherapeutic treatment of the chronic phase of Chagas disease:
(i) repeated short-term treatments for 30 consecutive days and interval of 30-60 days for six months to one year
and (ii) combinations of drugs with different mechanisms of action, such as benznidazole + nifurtimox, benznidazole
or nifurtimox + allopurinol or triazole antifungal agents, inhibition of sterol synthesis.
Keywords in Portuguese
Doença de ChagasFase crônica
Quimioterapia
Novas estratégias
Combinação de medicamentos
Keywords
Chagas diseasechronic phase
chemotherapy
new strategies
repeated treatment
combination of drugs
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