Spatio-temporal distribution of hospitalizations for chronic Chagas disease and risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality and surgical intervention in Chile

by Nicolhole Atero, Marisa Torres, Ang élica Domínguez, Benjamín Diethelm-Varela, Francisca Córdova-Bührle, Fernando O. Mardones Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected parasitic zoonotic disease that affects over 6 million people worldwide. We conducted a retrospective study to analyze the spatiotemporal trends and risk factors for hospitalization rates of CD with cardiac and digestive diagnoses in Chile. We used the Mann-Kendall analysis for temporal trends, Global Moran ’s Index, and Local Indicators of Spatial Association to identify spatial autocorrelation, and regression models to determine the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality and surgical intervention. Between 2010 and 2020, a total of 654 hospitalizations were reported, corresponding to 527 individuals. The hospitalization rate steadily decreased over the years (t = -0.636; p = 0.009). The Global Moran’s I for the study period showed a positive spatial autocorrelation for hospitalization municipality and for residence municipality of CD patients (I = 0.25, p
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research