ABSTRACT
A right bundle branch block with ST-segment elevation in the V1-V3 leads in characteristic coved or saddleback configuration may be encountered as an incidental finding. However, not all patients with a Brugada-like electrocardiographic pattern are affected by the Brugada syndrome; in fact, this pattern may also be found in healthy individuals. Whether symptomatic patients affected by the syndrome are at a high risk of developing life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and should immediately receive an automatic, implantable defibrillator is open to debate, as is the clinical management of asymptomatic patients, because data from the scientific literature are controversial. Implications of the diagnosis and the treatment of this category of patients are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Blastocystis hominis, previously considered a harmless yeast, is now classified as a protozoan inhabiting the human intestinal tract. The pathogenicity of B. hominis remains controversial and is currently the subject of extensive debate.1- 5 As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the pathogenic role of B. hominis, large-scale treatment trials of B. hominis infection have so far been lacking. In spite of this, several drugs have been reported to be active against the parasite.6-8 The present study was carried out in order to evaluate the efficacy of metronidazole treatment in inducing clinical remission and parasitologic eradication in immunocompetent individuals with B. hominis as the only evident cause of diarrhea.
