Abstract
A radiological study on the colon of patients from an endemic Chagas disease zone was conducted using the simplified opaque enema technique of Ximenes et al. The study involved 291 individuals with a mean age of 48.8 ± 12.5 years-old, of whom 222 were seropositive for Chagas disease. Anteroposterior, posteroanterior and left lateral view radiographs were analyzed by visual inspection and measurement of the largest rectal and sigmoid diameters. From the visual inspection, megacolon was diagnosed in 14 (6.3%) Chagas disease patients. The mean diameter of the rectal ampulla among the Chagas patients was 6.3 ± 1.0 cm, similar to the measurement in non-Chagas individuals: 6.2 ± 1.0 cm (p= 0.391). The mean sigmoid loop diameter in the Chagas patients was 5 ± 1.6 cm, which was larger than among the non-Chagas individuals: 4.4 ± 0.8 cm (p= 0.001). excluding the evident and probable megacolon cases, the Chagas disease population continued to present a significantly larger mean sigmoid diameter than that observed among non-Chagas individuals (p= 0.003).
Highlights
A radiological study on the colon of patients from an endemic Chagas disease zone was conducted using the simplified opaque enema technique of Ximenes et al Methods: The study involved 291 individuals with a mean age of 48.8(±12.5) years-old, of whom 222 were seropositive for Chagas disease
TABELA 1 - Diâmetro médio do reto em centímetros de pacientes com e sem infecção chagásica
A realização deste estudo evidenciou a existência de colopatia em indivíduos chagásicos oligo ou assintomáticos, e mostrou que o enema opaco simplificado pode ser realizado nas áreas endêmicas de doença de Chagas para estudo do cólon
Summary
Radiological study on megacolon cases in an endemic area for Chagas disease Cleudson Castro[1], Esperanza Bernal Hernandez[2], Joffre Rezende[3,4] e Aluizio Prata[5,6]. Introdução: Foi realizado estudo radiológico do cólon em pacientes de zona endêmica da doença de Chagas usando-se a técnica do enema opaco simplificado de Ximenes e cols. Métodos: Participaram 291 pacientes, com idade media de 48,8 (±12,5) anos, sendo 222 soropositivos para doença de Chagas. Fizeram radiografias na posição ântero-posterior, póstero-anterior e perfil lateral esquerdo, que foram analisadas por inspeção visual e medida do maior diâmetro em centímetros do reto e sigmoide. Resultados: À inspeção visual, foi possível diagnosticar megacólon em 14 (6,3%) pacientes chagásicos. Conclusões: Excluindo-se os casos de megacólon evidente e de provável megacólon, a população chagásica continuou com o diâmetro médio do sigmoide significantemente maior (p=0,003) que a não chagásica.
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