Heart Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Heart Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Polymerase chain reaction in endomyocardial biopsies for monitoring reactivation of Chagas' disease in heart transplantation: a case report and review of the literature.

Benvenuti LA, Roggério A, Sambiase NV, Fiorelli A, Higuchi Mde L

Laboratory of Pathology, Heart Institute (InCor), University of São Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. Enéas Carvalho de Aguiar 44, 05403-000 São Paulo, Brazil. anpluiz@incor.usp.br

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to detect microbiological agent recurrence after heart transplantation of viral-induced cardiomyopathies. We report a case of reactivation of Chagas' disease after heart transplantation in which parasites could be detected in the endomyocardial biopsy using hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections, immunohistochemistry, and PCR for Trypanosoma cruzi DNA. Interestingly, PCR results remained positive in the endomyocardial biopsy 53 days after the beginning of successful treatment, pointing to the possibility of chronic persistence of parasites in the myocardium after the reactivation of Chagas' disease.

Published 19 September 2005 in Cardiovasc Pathol, 14(5): 265-8.
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