Evidence map›Paper›PMID 12975414›Full record

ArticleHeart (British Cardiac Society)2003

Risk progression to chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy: influence of male sex and of parasitaemia detected by polymerase chain reaction.

A L Basquiera, A Sembaj, A M Aguerri, M Omelianiuk, S Guzmán, J Moreno Barral, T F Caeiro, R J Madoery, O A Salomone

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Heart (British Cardiac Society), 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
48citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

48 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Guideline
  3. Pooled it
  4. Association BetweenFrontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2021
    Pooled it
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  6. Pooled it
  7. Trial
  8. A SpecificFrontiers in immunology · 2020
    Trial
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Clinical Progression of Cardiac ChronicPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

A L BasquieraInternal Medicine Training Programme, Department of Education, Hospital Privado Centro Médico de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. anabasquiera@arnet.com.ar
A Sembaj
A M Aguerri
M Omelianiuk
S Guzmán
J Moreno Barral
T F Caeiro
R J Madoery
O A Salomone

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPolymerase chain reaction (PCR) allows detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in blood throughout the course of Chagas' disease.

objectiveTo determine whether T cruzi DNA detected by PCR is associated with progression to chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy.

designProspective cohort study.

settingA tertiary care centre in Argentina. PATIENTS: 56 consecutive patients with chronic T cruzi infection.

methodsClinical examination, ECG, and Doppler echocardiography were carried out at baseline and at the end of the follow up. Detection of T cruzi DNA by PCR amplifying a nuclear sequence was undertaken in all patients at baseline.

main outcome measuresProgression was defined as death from chronic cardiomyopathy or the presence of a new ECG or left ventricular echocardiographic abnormality at the end of follow up.

resultsThe 56 patients (21 male, 35 female; mean (SD) age, 56.0 (11.3) years) were followed for a mean 936.3 (244.39) days. Progression to cardiomyopathy was detected in 12 patients (21.4%). Three of these patients died after baseline evaluation. Univariate analysis showed that a positive PCR (relative risk 4.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.60 to 9.85) and male sex (5.00, 95% CI 1.65 to 15.73) were associated with progression. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that both sex and PCR were independent variables affecting the outcome.

conclusionsIn a cohort of seropositive individuals, patients with T cruzi DNA detected by PCR and male patients were at higher risk of progression. These results highlight the importance of T cruzi in the pathophysiology of chronic cardiomyopathy.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAnimalsChagas CardiomyopathyCohort StudiesDisease ProgressionDNA, ProtozoanElectrocardiographyFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHeart BlockHumansMaleMiddle AgedParasitemiaDNA, Protozoan

Identifiers

PMID12975414
PMCPMC1767891

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.