MedGenMed : Medscape general medicine
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The purpose of this article is to discuss an evidence-based algorithm that can be implemented by the primary care physician in his/her daily clinical practice for the treatment of patients with neuropathic pain conditions. ⋯ Patients presenting with neuropathic pain are becoming a more frequent occurrence for the primary care physician as the population ages. Evidence-based treatment options allow for the most efficient and effective pharmacotherapy regimen to be implemented.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) can be considered the primary agency of the United Nations that promotes global public health. This article provides a general overview of WHO by exploring the history, current, and future practices of the organization, and by addressing its major roles and functions in the present day. ⋯ Srimathy Vijayan is a fourth-year medical student at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom. She interned at the WHO headquarters in Geneva during the summer of 2007.
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Case Reports
ST segment elevation on electrocardiogram: the electrocardiographic pattern of Brugada syndrome.
A 77-year-old white diabetic woman was brought to our emergency department (ED) after becoming lightheaded and hypotensive at home. Her routine tests including a chest radiograph were normal. Her electrocardiogram (ECG) showed significant ST segment elevation in leads V1 to V4. ⋯ To diagnose the Brugada syndrome, 1 ECG criterion and 1 clinical criterion should exist. Brugada syndrome can be associated with ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation; the only treatment proven to prevent sudden death is placement of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which is recommended in symptomatic patients or in those with ventricular tachycardia induced during electrophysiologic studies and a type 1 ECG pattern of Brugada syndrome. It is important to recognize the Brugada ECG pattern and to differentiate it from other etiologies of ST segment elevation on ECG.