Reações adversas em pacientes com doença de Chagas tratados com benzonidazol, no Estado do Ceará Adverse reactions in Chagas disease patients treated with benznidazole, in the State of Ceará

• Main Authors: Vânia Maria Oliveira de Pontes, Alcidésio Sales de Souza Júnior, Francisco Marcondes Tavares da Cruz, Helena Lutéscia Luna Coelho, Aparecida Tiemi Nagao Dias, Ivo Castelo Branco Coêlho, Maria de Fátima Oliveira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2010-04-01
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Doença de Chagas; Trypanosoma cruzi; Benzonidazol; Reação adversa a medicamento; Chagas disease; Benznidazole; Adverse reactions to drugs
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822010000200015
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849

INTRODUÇÃO: A doença de Chagas, causada pelo Trypanosoma cruzi, é tratada com benzonidazol, tendo o inconveniente de apresentar efetividade parcial e alta toxicidade, que varia desde reações de hipersensibilidade a aplasia medular. O objetivo foi descrever e avaliar a ocorrência de reações adversas em pacientes chagásicos em tratamento com benzonidazol em Fortaleza, Ceará. MÉTODOS: Estudo descritivo prospectivo envolvendo 32 pacientes chagásicos crônicos tratados com benzonidazol entre janeiro de 2005 e abril de 2006. Dados sociodemográficos e clínicos foram coletados de questionários, entrevistas e exames laboratoriais. As amostras de sangue foram coletadas antes, com 30 e 60 dias de tratamento. RESULTADOS: Reações adversas foram relatadas em 28 (87,5%) pacientes tratados, tendo sido as mais frequentes: prurido (50%), formigamento (43,8%), fraqueza muscular (37,5%) e rash cutânea (31,3%). Dos 28 pacientes com reações adversas, oito (28,57%) interromperam o tratamento. Reações adversas que culminaram com a suspensão do tratamento foram formigamento sete (87,5%) ou erupção cutânea cinco (62,5%). Observou-se aumento discreto dos níveis de aminotransferases durante o tratamento em (9,4%) pacientes. CONCLUSÕES: Concluindo, o acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico dos pacientes chagásicos é de grande relevância na prevenção e detecção precoce das reações adversas a medicamentos.<br>INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and treated with benznidazole (BNZ). This drug has the troublesome features of presenting partial effectiveness and high toxicity ranging from hypersensitivity reactions to medullary aplasia. The objective here was to describe and evaluate the occurrence of adverse reactions in Chagas disease patients treated with benznidazole in Fortaleza, Ceará. METHODS: This was a prospective descriptive study involving 32 chronic Chagas patients treated with benznidazole between January 2005 and April 2006. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and laboratory tests. Blood samples were collected before treatment and after 30 and 60 days of treatment. RESULTS: Adverse reactions were reported in 28 patients (87.5%) patients and the most frequent of these were pruritus (50%), prickling (43.8%), muscle weakness (37.5%) and skin rash (31.3%). Out of the 28 patients with adverse reactions, eight (28.57%) discontinued their treatment. The adverse reactions that culminated with discontinuation of the treatment were prickling (7; 87.5%) or skin eruptions (5; 62.5%). There was a slight increase in aminotransferase levels during the treatment in 9.4% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Following up the drug therapy administered to Chagas patients is of great importance for prevention and early detection of adverse reactions to drugs.