Lytic antibodies (LA) investigated by complement-mediated lysis (CoML) test were present in 11 pericardial fluids collected from chagasic patients who died suddenly or from causes not related to the disease and were included in a study of the indeterminate form of Chagas' disease. In all patients diagnostic conventional serology performed with the pericardial fluid was positive and heart lesions were characteristic or strongly suggestive of Chagas' disease myocardiopathy. In 12 pericardial fluids from non-chagasic patients who died from different reasons, the CoML test was negative. The presence of LA in the pericardial fluid is a strong evidence of active T. cruzi infection in the chagasic patients submitted to necropsy and opens perspectives for further studies and better understanding of the pathology of Chagas' disease.
Chagas' disease; Pericardial fluid; Lytic antibodies; Anti - T. cruzi serology