Clinical research on imported diseases: Experience of the Reference Unit for Imported Diseases and International Health at Dr. Balmis University General Hospital.
Two research lines are presented, one focused on malaria and the other on imported Chagas disease. In the case of malaria, the work involves developing a predictive model based on epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory variables to diagnose malaria in patients presenting with febrile syndrome after returning from tropical countries. The rationale for developing this predictive model is that severe and complicated malaria generally occurs in non‑immune individuals and is almost always the result of delayed diagnosis or inadequate treatment. In such situations, empirical antimalarial therapy should be administered when the probability of malaria is high. Regarding Chagas disease—an endemic condition in Central and South America whose main long‑term consequence is Chagas cardiomyopathy—the research summarizes community‑based early‑diagnosis campaigns conducted in the province of Alicante in 2016, 2017, and 2018. These campaigns involved screening Latin American populations using Trypanosoma cruzi serology and included health‑education activities. Screening is crucial for diagnosing the disease during the indeterminate chronic phase and for providing antiparasitic treatment to positive individuals in order to prevent or delay progression to cardiomyopathy.
