A case of chronic Chagas disease: Post-treatment serological negativization, is it the same as a cure?

Abstract

The administration of trypanocidal treatment to chronic adults infected by Trypanosoma cruzi is discussed. The diagnosis of chronic infection is performed by conventional serology. Therefore the persistent negativization of serology is accepted as a cure criterion. We report the case of a male patient with chronic chagasic infection, treated with benznidazole at 30 years of age, with a subsequent follow-up of 35 years. During that period, negative seroconversion was achieved by conventional serological tests. Nevertheless, the patient developed severe Chagas cardiomyopathy.