
Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was implemented at the Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease (CECD) at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center to detect the prevalence of CD in Latin-American immigrants with an implanted pacemaker. Patients at least 18 years old who lived in Latin America for at least 6 months at any point in their lives with a pacemaker were invited to take part of this study. Patients with a concomitant defibrillator or cardiomyopathy were excluded. Blood samples were screened serologically to establish CD diagnosis using an enzyme immunoassay, and a Trypomastigote excreted-secreted antigen Western blot performed at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) laboratories.
Results: There were a total of 385 patients with pacemakers in the clinic. A total of 115 patients met inclusion criteria and informed consent was obtained from 81 patients; the rest declined participation or were lost to follow-up. The enrollment period was from March 2014 to March 2015. Out of 81 patients, six were seropositive for Trypanosoma Cruzi, resulting in a seropositive prevalence of 7.5%. From the six positive patients, 4/12 were from El Salvador (33%), 1/49 from Mexico (2%) and 1/1 from Argentina (100%). The average age of positive patients was 78 years versus 68 years for negative patients.
Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the prevalence of CD among patients with conduction disease requiring pacemakers is high among Latin American immigrants. Screening for CD should be considered for all patients with unexplained cardiac conduction disease from endemic regions.

S. Hernandez,
None
J. Dufani, None
P. Bergin, None
A. Abuhamidah, None
D. Sanchez, None
J. Bradfield, None
S. Meymandi, None
M. Traina, None