Electrocardiographic abnormalities in Trypanosoma cruzi seropositive and seronegative former blood donors.

BACKGROUND:Blood donor screening leads to large numbers of new diagnoses of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, with most donors in the asymptomatic chronic indeterminate form. Information on electrocardiogram (ECG) findings in infected blood donors is lacking and may help in counseling and recognizing those with more severe disease. OBJECTIVES:To assess the frequency of ECG abnormalities in T.cruzi seropositive relative to seronegative blood donors, and to recognize ECG abnormalities associated with left ventricular dysfunction. METHODS:The study retrospectively enrolled 499 seropositive blood donors in São Paulo and Montes Claros, Brazil, and 483 seronegative control donors matched by site, gender, age, and year of blood donation. All subjects underwent a health clinical evaluation, ECG, and echocardiogram (Echo). ECG and Echo were reviewed blindly by centralized reading centers. Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction was defined as LV ejection fraction (EF)