The following symptoms and complaints may indicate Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis):The following stages of the disease can be distinguished:
- Acute phase
- Latent phase
- Chronic disease phase
Acute phase (30-40% of infected people); duration: up to 4 weeks.
- Chagoma – redness and swelling at the site of entry of the pathogen; may persist for several weeks.
- Romana sign – redness and swelling of the eyelids.
After a few days, general symptomatology occurs with:
- Fever
- Nausea, vomiting
- Diarrhea (diarrhea)
- Anemia (anemia)
- Lymphadenopathy (lymph node enlargement).
- Hepatosplenomegaly (liver and spleen enlargement).
- Edema – water retention in the tissues.
- Multiple skin manifestations
Approximately 70% of cases heal spontaneously.
Latent phase
- Asymptomatic
- HIV patients may experience recurrent acute symptoms
Chronic phase of the disease (in up to 20% of infected people).
- Cardiac ischemia – deficiency supply of the heart.
- Stimulus formation/ conduction disorders of the heart.
- Thromboembolism – occlusion of a pulmonary vessel by a blood clot.
- Sudden cardiac death (PHT)
- Intestinal perforation – rupture of the intestine, unspecified.
- Megaesophagus – enlargement of the esophagus.
- Megaduodenum – enlargement of the duodenum.
- Megacolon – enlargement of the large intestine; leads to chronic constipation (constipation).
- Peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneum).
- Toxic megacolon – toxin-induced paralysis and massive dilatation of the colon (widening of the colon; > 6 cm; lack of haustration/pleating of the colon), which is accompanied by acute abdomen (most severe abdominal pain), vomiting, clinical signs of shock and sepsis (blood poisoning); complication of ulcerative colitis; lethality (mortality related to the total number of people suffering from the disease) is about 30%.
- Volvulus – “knotting” of intestinal loops.
- Esophageal cancer (cancer of the esophagus)
- Involvement of the brain, similar to cerebral toxoplasmosis.
