CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ACUTE CHAGAS DISEASE IN NORTHERN TOCANTINS

Acute Chagas Disease has persisted as a serious public health problem in Latin America, especially in the Amazon region. The study aimed to understand the clinical and epidemiological aspects of Acute Chagas Disease in Tocantins. This is a retrospective, descriptive, documentary study with a quantitative -qualitative approach of confirmed cases of Acute Chagas Disease in Tocantins in the period 2011 to 2019. It was found the occurrence of 49 cases of ACD in the period, of which 45 were autochthonous and 4 imported, with an incidence of 0.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the period, with a predominance of cases in women (p<0.05), aged between 20 and 59 years, brown skin, living in urban areas, mainly related to oral transmission (84.4%), from outbreaks. There was a delay in diagnosis and in the beginning of treatment, with predominantly the occurrence of fever (100%), pericardial effusion (58.3%), abdominal pain (58.3%). The diagnosis was mostly confirmed by parasitological tests. The findings point to a considerable incidence of Acute Chagas Disease in Tocantins.