Diagnosis of Chagas disease: what has been achieved? What remains to be done with regard to diagnosis and follow up studies?

Successful Treatment with Posaconazole of a Patient with Chronic Chagas Disease and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

“…Second, conventional serology responds slowly to parasite elimination, and the lag time increases with the duration of the original infection. [5][6][7][8] Third, in chronic infections, the levels of circulating parasites are often at or below the limit of the most sensitive direct parasitological methods, such as PCR. [9][10][11][12][13] Moreover, many patients with chronic CD have other health conditions, including immunosuppression, which can severely complicate the prognosis.…”

Reproducibilidad de pruebas serológicas para el diagnóstico de infección por Trypanosoma cruzi en gestantes de zona endémica de Santander, Colombia

“…Así, en la fase crónica, cuando no hay parásitos en circulación, las pruebas serológicas son útiles dado que detectan la presencia de anticuerpos que indican un contacto previo con el parásito (7,8).…”

Diagnosing Neglected Tropical Diseases in HIV Coinfection

“…Thus, some authors indicate PCR as an ancillary diagnostic tool at this stage. 6,71 According to literature, the sensitivity of PCR in the chronic phase of Chagas disease is variable, and some studies have reported improvement in diagnostic sensitivity compared to serology and other diagnostic methods. 72 Regarding HIV patients, the use of PCR in the diagnosis of Chagas disease and monitoring of treatment efficacy is of paramount importance, as it is known that despite not completely eliminating the parasites, the treatment helps reduce the damage caused by the immune system in response to infection.…”

“…3 The gold standard diagnostic method for malaria, leishmaniasis, and acute Chagas disease is direct demonstration of the parasite by microscopy techniques. [4][5][6] This diagnostic method is inexpensive and can be conducted under field conditions, as it requires little structure. Once the parasite is seen, diagnosis can be made accurately.…”