Volume 29, Number 9—September 2023
Dispatch
Acute Chagas Disease Outbreak among Military Personnel, Colombia, 2021
Hernán Darío Vergara
, Carlos H. Gómez, Álvaro A. Faccini-Martínez, Ana Catalina Herrera, María José López, Camila Camacho, Lilian Muñoz, Lissa Cruz-Saavedra, Carolina Hernández, and Juan David Ramírez
, Carlos H. Gómez, Álvaro A. Faccini-Martínez, Ana Catalina Herrera, María José López, Camila Camacho, Lilian Muñoz, Lissa Cruz-Saavedra, Carolina Hernández, and Juan David Ramírez
Table
Clinical features and laboratory test results of acute Chagas disease among military personnel, Colombia, 2021*
| Characteristics |
Patient 1 |
Patient 2 |
Patient 3 |
Patient 4 |
Patient 5 |
Patient 6 |
Patient 7 |
| No. days fever at hospital admission |
26 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
25 |
33 |
| Symptoms |
Fever, asthenia, adynamia, diarrhea, vomiting, chest pain, orthopnea |
Fever, asthenia, adynamia, abdominal pain, pleuritic pain, dyspnea |
Fever, chills, vomiting, abdominal pain, pleuritic pain, dyspnea |
Fever, headache, chills, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, pleuritic pain, dyspnea |
Fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, dry cough, orthopnea |
Fever, asthenia, malaise, diarrhea, pleuritic pain, dyspnea |
Fever, asthenia, adynamia, diarrhea |
| ICU admission |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
N |
| Pericardial effusion, mL |
+, 600 |
+, 450 |
+, 760 |
+, 600 |
+, 200 |
+, ND |
No effusion |
| Troponin, pg/mL |
1,111 |
225 |
722 |
671 |
997.3 |
568 |
4.7 |
| Echocardiography |
LVEF 29%, generalized apical hypokinesia, LVMI 131 g/m2 |
LVEF 54%, hypokinesia of apical predominance, LVMI 112 g/m2 |
LVEF 38%, decreased right ventricular filling pattern without contractility disorder, LVMI 120 g/m2 |
LVEF 28%, generalized hypokinesia, LVMI 150 g/m2 |
LVEF 35%, no contractility disorder, LVMI 120 g/m2 |
LVEF 62%, no contractility disorder, LVMI 104 g/m2 |
LVEF 60%, no contractility disorder, LVMI 72 g/m2 |
| EKG |
Sinus rhythm, generalized low voltage, and anterolateral repolarization disorder |
Sinus rhythm, generalized low voltage, and anterolateral repolarization disorder |
Sinus tachycardia, generalized repolarization disorder, and low voltage |
Sinus tachycardia, generalized repolarization disorder, and low voltage |
Sinus tachycardia, generalized repolarization disorder, and low voltage |
Sinus tachycardia, generalized repolarization disorder, and low voltage |
Sinus rhythm |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL |
12 |
10.1 |
10.6 |
13 |
9.5 |
12.2 |
15.6 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL |
0.94 |
0.75 |
0.82 |
0.92 |
0.88 |
0.76 |
1.04 |
| Thick blood smear† |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test‡ |
– |
– |
– |
– |
+ |
– |
– |
| SARS-CoV-2 qRT-PCR‡ |
– |
– |
– |
– |
+ |
– |
– |
| ELISA, IgG antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
– |
| Strout test |
+ |
– |
+ |
+ |
NP |
NP |
– |
| qPCR for T. cruzi, parasites/mL§ |
+, 0.5 |
+, 4.55 |
+, 3.25 |
+, 5.4 |
+, 5.8 |
+, 2.63 |
+, 0.5 |
| Direct microscopic examination of pericardial fluid¶ | + | + | + | + | NP | NP | NP |
*EKG, electrocardiography; ICU, intensive care unit; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; LVMI, left ventricular mass index; ND, no data; NP, not performed; qRT-PCR, real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR; qPCR, quantitative PCR; +, positive; –, negative. †Presence of trypomastigotes. ‡Nasal swab. §Whole blood for T. cruzi DNA detection. ¶Detection of trypomastigotes via pericardiocentesis.
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Page updated: August 20, 2023
Page reviewed: August 20, 2023
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