Perfil sorológico da toxoplasmose em grávidas atendidas em centro de referência na Região do Seridó, Estado do Rio Grande do Norte.

Abstract

Serological profile of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women attended at a referral center in the Seridó Region, State of Rio Grande do Norte. Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular parasite. Humans are intermediate hosts, as well as several species of mammals, birds and reptiles. Felid is the definitive host, which shedoocystson the environment through the feces. Acute maternal infection can have serious consequences in fetuses, so specific prenatal screening is imperative from the preventive point of view. The objective of this survey was to perform an epidemiological study for toxoplasmosis in pregnant women attended at the Reference Clinical Center Dr. GersonAlvesFeitosa, covering the years 2017 and 2018, in the municipality of Caicó, Seridó region, State of Rio Grande do Norte. The study was characterized as case series observational descriptive survey by review of medical records of 527 patients attended at high risk prenatal, with information collected on serological detection for toxoplasmosis (IgG and IgM). Among the 527 records, a total of 161 pregnant women who had their serology results for toxoplasmosis were duly recorded in their medical records. Of these, 120 (74.5%) women were negative for toxoplasmosis, 30 (18.6%) were positive for IgG, seven (4.3%) were positive for IgM and four (2.6%) were positive for both immunoglobulins. Regarding the evaluation of pregnant women's perception of toxoplasmosis, 38 women were interviewed, of which 20 (52.6%) answered that they had knowledge about the disease, four (10.5%) said they knew the symptoms of the disease, 15 39.5%) answered that they knew the mechanisms of transmission, 14 (36.8%) reported that they had knowledge about diagnostic tests, and 18 (47.4%) answered that they had already performed tests for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. It was concluded that the majority of pregnant women (74.5%) were seronegative for anti- Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, which presents a higher risk of contracting acute infection during pregnancy due to the absence of antibodies. There was also a shortage of information in the medical records, which suggests an inadequate behavior regarding the follow-up of pregnant women who may be at risk of toxoplasmosis. It was evidenced in the application of the questionnaires that, although some pregnant women were aware of the disease, the majority were unaware of epidemiological information on toxoplasmosis, but they showed interest in discussing the subject.