Impact of the Pharmaceutical Care on the Quality of Life in Patients With Chagas Heart Disease

Impact of The Pharmaceutical Care on the Quality of Life of Patients With Chagas Disease and Heart Failure: Randomized Clinical Trial

The investigators hypothesize that pharmaceutical care may constitute an important tool for the clinical management of these patients by improving their compliance to their treatment with consequent improvement in their quality of life by minimizing symptoms, and decreasing the number of hospital admissions and adverse drug reactions. Therefore, the aim of this trial is to evaluate the contribution of pharmaceutical care to clinical treatment of patients with Chagas heart disease complicated by heart failure.

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: A total of 88 patients will be randomly assigned into two parallel groups: (1) group who will receive standard care and pharmaceutical care; and (2) group who will receive only standard care. Both groups will be subjected to a follow-up period of 12 months. The primary outcome of this trial is the evaluation of quality of life, measured by the 36-item short-form and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes include drug-related problems and exercise tolerance measured by the standard six-minute walk test.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The proposed clinical trial will be conducted in volunteers with Chagas disease complicated by heart failure.
• Subjects will include adults, men and women, racial or ethnic minorities.
• Diagnosed by two distinct Chagas serology tests (indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with any of comorbidities that significantly affect the cardiac performance, such as coronary artery disease, moderate or severe heart valvular disease, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, congenital heart disease, or that limit their survival, such as malignant tumors and HIV, will be excluded from the study.
• Patients will be also be excluded in case of failure to give informed consent, inability to perform 6 minute- walk test, significant cognitive impairment, or pregnancy.
• Individuals who are participating in others intervention trials will also be excluded.