Reactivation of Chagas disease after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Claudia Marcela Chalela, Angela Maria Peña, Angela Maria Roa, David L. Reyes, Jennifer Paola Rueda, Luis Antonio Salazar, Manuel Rosales, Edgar David Gomez, Edgar Augusto Bernal, Claudia Lucia Sossa Melo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2020
• Subjects: Stem cell transplantation; Chagas disease; Trypanosoma cruzi; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0143-2020; https://doaj.org/article/1d33b372fc214b44b5b10923c02a57c8

Abstract Chagas disease (CD) is a protozoan zoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Reactivation of CD occurs via drug-induced immunosuppression before and during transplantation. Here, we report the case of a 62-year-old man diagnosed with classic Hodgkin lymphoma who received highly aggressive conditioning chemotherapy before undergoing stem cell transplantation (SCT). The patient tested positive for CD in pre-transplantation evaluation. The patient exhibited persistent fever and elevated C-reactive protein levels before and after SCT, and was treated with antibiotics. Micro-Strout test showed evidence of trypomastigotes and he was treated with benznidazole until tested negative. Post-transplantation seropositive patients should be screened for possible reactivation.