Current epidemiological profile of Chagasic megaesophagus in Central Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Chagasic megaesophagus (CM) is the most common digestive manifestation of Chagas disease in Brazil, and the State of Goiás is one of the most affected regions. In recent decades, the Hospital das Clinicas (HC)/Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) has been a reference center for the study and treatment of CM. The objective of this study was to characterize the current epidemiological profile of patients with CM observed at the HC of the UFG from 1998 to 2010. Methods: In total, 939 patient records were analyzed, and age, gender, place of birth, serology, symptoms and radiological classification according to Rezende et al. were analyzed. Results: The median patient age was 55 years. Male patients were more (54%) prevalent than female patients. The prevalence of younger patients (less than 31 years of age) was 4.2%, but 82.1% of the younger patients were from State of Bahia. Patients older than 40 years were the majority (85.5%). The radiological groups were distributed as follows: Group I (35.9%), Group II (32.9%), Group III (17%) and Group IV (14.2%). Conclusions: Compared with previous studies by the same group in 1975, 1994 and 1995, the number of younger patients decreased, and the frequency curve has shifted to older patients.