What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess the feasibility, safety, and therapeutic effectiveness of community- and clinic-based diagnosis and benznidazole treatment programs for Chagas disease across four Latin American project sites.

July 6, 2009PLoS neglected tropical diseasesOpen Access

Feasibility, Drug Safety, and Effectiveness of Etiological Treatment Programs for Chagas Disease in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia: 10-Year Experience of Médecins Sans Frontières

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Authors

OYOliver YunMcGill University MLMaría Angeles LimaUniversidad del Valle TETom EllmanMédecins Sans Frontières

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Implication

Observational program evaluation demonstrates the feasibility and safety of benznidazole in children, highlighting regional variability in cure rates.

Key Points

To assess the feasibility, safety, and therapeutic effectiveness of community- and clinic-based diagnosis and benznidazole treatment programs for Chagas disease across four Latin American project sites.
Field program evaluation conducted between 1999 and 2008 by Médecins Sans Frontières across four locations: Yoro, Honduras; Olopa, Guatemala; and Entre Ríos and Sucre, Bolivia.
Screened children and adolescents (<18 years) for Trypanosoma cruzi using two distinct diagnostic blood tests, alongside community education and vector control programs.
Seropositive youth received first-line treatment with benznidazole with family-assisted monitoring for adverse events, weekly clinical follow-up, and longitudinal serological conversion evaluations.
Seroprevalence was 0.9% (232/24,471) in Yoro, 1.4% (124/8,927) in Olopa, 19.4% (1,475/7,613) in Entre Ríos, and 5.9% (1,145/19,400) in Sucre.
Seroconversion rates varied significantly: 87.1% at 18 months in Yoro, 58.1% at 18 months in Olopa, 5.4% by 60 months in Entre Ríos, and 0% at an average of 18 months in Sucre.
Benznidazole-related adverse events occurred in 50.2% (Yoro), 50.8% (Olopa), 25.6% (Entre Ríos), and 37.9% (Sucre) of treated patients; most were mild and manageable, with zero fatalities.

Cite This Study

Yun et al. (2009) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a79a1e4fbd9051d3b0dde25 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000488

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Implication

Observational program evaluation demonstrates the feasibility and safety of benznidazole in children, highlighting regional variability in cure rates.

Feasibility, Drug Safety, and Effectiveness of Etiological Treatment Programs for Chagas Disease in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia: 10-Year Experience of Médecins Sans Frontières

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Cite This Study

Feasibility, Drug Safety, and Effectiveness of Etiological Treatment Programs for Chagas Disease in Honduras, Guatemala, and Bolivia: 10-Year Experience of Médecins Sans Frontières

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