Molecular detection and parasite load of Trypanosoma cruzi in digestive tract tissue of Chagas disease patients affected by megacolon

•Detection of T. cruzi presence in digestive tract is essential to study the pathophysiological relevance of the infection.•A case-control study to validate a methodology to find T. cruzi DNA in resected tissues is described.•A quantitative PCR targeted to T. cruzi satellite DNA was used to detect T.cruzi infection and quantify parasitic loads in colorectal tissue resections•Tissue sections preserved in ethanol 70% at -80 °C for as long as 2 years were suitable for qPCR analysis.•A higher positivity rate was found in megasigmoid (5/6) and intestinal transit restitution by Volvulo (3/4) compared to dolicomegacolon (7/26).