Serological diagnosis of Chagas disease in HIV-infected patients.

INTRODUCTION This study assessed the rate of request for the serological diagnosis of Chagas disease among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients treated at the Specialized Care Service of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. METHODS This cross-sectional study used secondary data obtained from the medical records of 252 patients aged between 18 and 75 years. RESULTS The serological diagnosis of Chagas disease was requested only in 3.2% of cases. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate poor adherence to protocols on the part of healthcare professionals, indicating the need to reevaluate the procedures applied to HIV-infected patients from endemic regions for both diseases.