Multidisciplinary nursing care in chronic Chagas disease: a scoping review.

Abstract

Background: Nurses provide essential care for symptomatic chronic Chagas disease carriers, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, offering crucial support, symptom management, medication administration, and monitoring to enhance their health-related quality of life.

Objective: To increase healthcare professionals' awareness of the critical role played by high-quality care in the management of patients with chronic Chagas disease.

Methods: This scoping review employed the PRISMA-ScR method as a framework for article selection. A comprehensive search was conducted in the Scielo Brazil, PubMed, and LILACS databases, using the keywords "Chagas disease," "nursing," "nursing care", and "nursing assistance" in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. The search covered the period from 1980 to 2022. The initial review identified a total of 633 studies, from which 17 studies were ultimately selected for analysis. These included two observational studies, two case series, and seven literature reviews.

Results: These studies underscored the crucial role of nurses in supporting patients with chronic Chagas disease, particularly those with cardiac and/or digestive manifestations. Additionally, interventions pertaining to neonates with the infection and users of pacemakers/implantable cardioverter defibrillators were examined.

Conclusion: Nurses play a critical role within a multidisciplinary care team in improving the health-related quality of life for individuals living with chronic Chagas disease, irrespective of the cardiac or digestive form of the disease. Therefore, it is essential to assess both the subjective and objective needs of infected individuals in order to develop tailored nursing care plans that address their individualized needs and clinical conditions.