Quantitative PCR-Based Diagnosis and Follow-up of Chagas Disease Primary Infection After Solid Organ Transplant: A Multicentre Study

Chagas disease in solid organ transplant recipients may present as a primary infection (PI). Early detection is crucial for timely treatment. This is the largest observational multicentre study evaluating qPCR for early diagnosis and treatment monitoring of PI in seronegative recipients of organs from seropositive donors. Of 34 patients admitted at 5 health centers, PI was detected by qPCR in 8 (23.5%) within a posttransplant period of 40 days (interquartile range [IQR], 31-50 days). No PI was detected by the Strout test or clinical symptoms/signs. All patients had favorable treatment outcome with negative qPCR 31 days (IQR, 18-35 days) after treatment, with no posttreatment relapse episodes.

Automated summary

This study highlights the importance of early detection of Chagas disease in solid organ transplant recipients through qPCR, with a rapid and favorable treatment outcome and no post-treatment relapse episodes observed among patients.