Chagas disease screening using point-of-care testing in an at-risk obstetric population
Document Type
Article (peer-reviewed)
Publication Date
12-21-2020
Abstract
Congenital transmission is the most important mode of transmission of Chagas disease (CD) in non-endemic countries. Identifying CD in reproductive-aged women is essential to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease to their children and offer treatment to women and their children, which could cure the disease. We evaluated the use of point-of-care (POC) testing for CD in postpartum patients. In our patient population, 16.7% (23/138) tested positive by POC testing, but confirmatory testing was negative for all patients. Among those considered high risk, 30% declined participation. Our results suggest limited utility of the point-of-care test used in our study and identify an opportunity for improvement to broaden diagnostic testing options. Our study also highlights the need to develop strategies to increase subject participation in future research.
Recommended Citation
Zamora, Lindsey E., Federico Palacio, Debra S. Kozlowski, Kamini Doraivelu, Carolynn M. Dude, Denise J. Jamieson, and Lisa Haddad. 2020. "Chagas disease screening using point-of-care testing in an at-risk obstetric population," The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 104(3): 959–963.
DOI
10.4269/ajtmh.20-0517
Language
English