Current Treatments
Current Treatments
| Current treatments can cure infected patients, but highest efficacy is seen early in infection. |
| Drugs | Associated problems |
| Nifurtimox & Benznidazole | - low effectiveness (10 – 20% of parasitological cure) in the chronic phase of the disease - limited effectiveness (60 – 80% of parasitological cure) in the acute phase of the disease - regional variations in efficacy due to naturally resistant T.cruzi strains - high number of side effects: digestive disturbances (epigastric and abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, weight loss) in the case of nifurtimox; and benznidazole can cause haematological disorders and hypersensitive dermatitis, often associated with lymphadenopathy - high rate of patient non-compliance due to drug side effects - long period of treatment (30-90 days), and dose-dependent toxicity - no paediatric strengths - contraindicated during pregnancy - need for monitoring under specialized medical supervision |
Chagas
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Switzerland License