[Clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with Chagas disease at the University Hospital in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil].

This paper describes the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with Chagas disease treated in outpatient and inpatient departments at the Maringá University Hospital (UHM) in Paraná State, Brazil, from May 1998 to May 2003. Mean age was higher among hospitalized patients (p < 0.000). Hospitalized patients were predominantly males, as opposed to inpatients who were mostly females (p = 0.0033). Of the 95 patients, 60% were born in the States of Minas Gerais and São Paulo and 25.3% in Paraná. Family history for Chagas was positive in 68.9%, while 53.3% reported the presence of triatomine vectors in the household. In decreasing order, the most common clinical forms were cardiac, digestive, indeterminate, and cardiodigestive. The indeterminate form predominated among outpatients, as opposed to the cardiac and digestive forms among inpatients. Chronic cardiac and digestive complications were the principal complaints at hospital admission. This study showed particularly high percentages of cardiac (38.9%) and digestive disease (26.3%) as compared to other geographic areas. The Maringá University Hospital provides symptomatic care for these complications and does not prioritize etiological treatment, even for patients in the indeterminate phase.