BACKGROUND: Trypanosomiasis Americana is a South America endemic disease. Megacolon is one of its consequences that has not been classified as megaesophagus is. Our objective was to evaluate the results of contrast enemas of patients with Chagas' megacolon, in order to establish a practical radiologic classification of the disease's stage. METHODS: The authors evaluated 76 contrast enemas of patients with Chagas' megacolon and 59 enemas of normal patients. In those x-rays were measured the transversal diameters of sigmoid by the level of an imaginary line that passes between iliacs crests. The distribution of these measurements was analyzed establishing a classification into three grades (1 to 3). RESULTS: Fifty-two patients, without megacolon, had transversal axis mesures of the sigmoid between 2 and 5 cm; 29 between 5 and 9 cm (22 with Chagas'disease and seven without); 38, all with megacolon, between 9 and 13 cm and 16, also with megacolon, above 13 cm. CONCLUSIONS: We divided the Chagas' megacolon in grades, with the following characteristics: in Grade 1, transversal axis measures 5 cm to 9 cm (inclusively); in Grade 2, transversal axis measures between 9 cm until 13 cm (inclusively) and Grade 3, all axes measures over 13 cm.
Classification; Enema; Chagas' megacolon
