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. 2018 Feb;110(2):124-131.
doi: 10.5935/abc.20180016. Epub 2018 Feb 19.

The Presence and Extension of Myocardial Fibrosis in the Undetermined Form of Chagas' Disease: A Study Using Magnetic Resonance

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Marcia Maria Noya-Rabelo  1   2 , Carolina The Macedo  1   3 , Ticiana Larocca  3 , Admilson Machado  2 , Thais Pacheco  2 , Jorge Torreão  1 , Bruno Solano de Freitas Souza  3 , Milena B P Soares  3 , Ricardo Ribeiro-Dos-Santos  3 , Luis Claudio Lemos Correia  1   2
Affiliations

The Presence and Extension of Myocardial Fibrosis in the Undetermined Form of Chagas' Disease: A Study Using Magnetic Resonance

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Marcia Maria Noya-Rabelo et al. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Previous data has shown that patients in the indeterminate form of Chagas disease may present myocardial fibrosis as shown on through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, there is little information available regarding the degree of severity of myocardial fibrosis in these individuals. This variable has the potential to predict the evolution of Chagas' disease into its cardiac form.

Objectives: To describe the frequency and extent of myocardial fibrosis evaluated using an MRI in patients in the indeterminate form, and to compare it with other forms of the disease.

Methods: Patients were admitted one after another. Their clinical history was collected and they were submitted to laboratory exams and an MRI.

Results: Sixty-one patients with Chagas' disease, with an average age of 58 ± 9 years old, 17 patients in the indeterminate form, 16 in the cardiac form without left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and 28 in the cardiac form with LV dysfunction were studied. P <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Late enhancement was detected in 37 patients (64%). Myocardial fibrosis was identified in 6 individuals in indeterminate form (41%; 95% CI 23-66) in a proportion similar to that observed in cardiac form without LV dysfunction (44%); p = 1.0. Among the individuals with fibrosis, the total area of the affected myocardium was 4.1% (IIQ: 2.1 - 10.7) in the indeterminate form versus 2.3% (IIQ: 1-5) in the cardiac form without LV (p = 0.18). The left ventricular fraction ejection in subjects in the indeterminate form was similar to that of the individuals in the cardiac form without ventricular dysfunction (p = 0.09).

Conclusion: The presence of fibrosis in the indeterminate form of Chagas' disease has a frequency and extension similar to that of in the cardiac form without dysfunction, suggesting that the former is part of a subclinical disease spectrum, rather than lacking cardiac involvement.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential Conflict of Interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rassi score in the different clinical forms of Chagas’ disease. LV: left ventricular.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Myocardial fibrosis in the different clinical forms of Chagas’ disease. LV: left ventricular.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Linear regression analysis: influence of fibrosis on the left ventricular ejection fraction. LV: left ventricular.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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