A patient with dextrocardia and chagas disease: case report and literature review

Introduction: About half a million patients in Colombia are currently infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. However, little is known about patients with Chagas disease and anatomical defects such as dextrocardia. Case presentation: A 52-year-old male patient with a 4-year history of dyspnea, chest pain, lower limb edema and syncope (requiring hospitalization), arrhythmias and dextrocardia, underwent serological tests for T. cruzi that were positive. A literature review was conducted to find case reports of patients with dextrocardia or situs inversus and Chagas disease in order to determine the proper treatment. Conclusion: Cases of patients with dextrocardia and Chagas disease are rare. Besides the reported case, only three other cases were found in the literature, which were relatively similar, although they could be considered more severe. According to the findings, the use of etiological treatment is acceptable in patients with coronary anatomic abnormalities and T. cruzi infection. The present case draws attention to the importance of adequately approaching and monitoring this type of patient.