Brucellosis is a common zoonosis in many parts of the world; the best regimen for the treatment of brucellosis has not been clearly determined. We have carried out a multicenter, open, controlled trial in five general hospitals in Spain to compare the efficacy and safety of doxycycline and rifampin (DR) versus doxycycline and streptomycin (DS) for the treatment of human brucellosis. The study included 194 ambulatory or hospitalized patients with acute brucellosis, without endocarditis or neurobrucellosis. The diagnostic criterion was isolation of Brucella species from blood or other tissues (n ‫؍‬ 120) or a standard tube agglutination titer of 1/160 or more for anti-Brucella antibodies with compatible clinical findings (n ‫؍‬ 74). Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 100 mg of doxycycline twice daily plus rifampin, 900 mg/day, in a single morning dose for 45 days (DR group) or the same dose of doxycycline for 45 days plus streptomycin, 1 g/day, intramuscularly for 14 days (DS group). A lack of therapeutic efficacy developed in 8 of the 100 patients in the DR group (8%) and in 2 of the 94 patients in the DS group (2%) (P ‫؍‬ 0.10). Relapses occurred in 16 of the 100 patients in the DR group (16%) but in only 5 of the 94 patients in the DS group (5.3%) (P ‫؍‬ 0.02). When relapse was considered in combination with initial lack of efficacy, 26 patients in the DR group (24%) and 7 patients in the DS group (7.45%) failed to respond to therapy (P ‫؍‬ 0.0016). In general, therapy was well tolerated, and only four patients (4%) in the DR group and two (2%) in the DS group had episodes of adverse effects necessitating discontinuation of treatment (P > 0.2). We conclude that a doxycycline-and-rifampin regimen is less effective than the doxycycline-and-streptomycin regimen in patients with acute brucellosis.

Doxycycline treatment for 45 days significantly decreased early relapse rates among adults with brucellosis without increasing adverse effects.

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Background: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCM) is ranked among heart failure etiologies with the highest mortality rates. CCM is characterized by alterations in left ventricular function with a typical and unique pattern of myocardial involvement. Left ventricle longitudinal speckle tracking strain is emerging as an important additive method for evaluating left ventricular function and risk of future cardiovascular events. This systematic review aimed to characterize the left ventricle (LV) longitudinal strain by speckle tracking patterns in the different stages of Chagas disease, compared to healthy controls. Methods: Searches in Medline, EMBASE, and LILACS databases (from inception to 20 May 2021) were performed. Articles written in any language that assessed patients with Chagas disease and reported any measures derived from the left ventricular strain by speckle tracking were included. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of evidence. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. Results: Of 1044 references, ten studies, including a total of 1222 participants (CCM: 477; indeterminate form: 444; healthy controls: 301), fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in the final analysis. Patients with CCM had a significantly higher mean global longitudinal strain (GLS) value than indeterminate form (IF) patients (SMD 1.253; 95% CI 0.53, 1.98. I2 = 94%), while no significant difference was observed between IF patients and healthy controls (SMD 0.197; 95% CI −0.19, 0.59. I2 = 80%). Segmental strain analyses revealed that patients with the IF form of CD had significantly worse strain values in the basal-inferoseptal (SMD 0.49; 95% CI 0.24, 0.74. I2: 24%), and mid-inferoseptal (SMD 0.28; 95% CI 0.05, 0.50. I2: 10%) segments compared to healthy controls. Conclusions: Our results suggest different levels of functional derangements in myocardial function across different stages of Chagas disease. Further research is needed to assess the prognostic role of LV longitudinal strain and other measures derived from speckle tracking in CD patients regarding progression to cardiomyopathy and clinical outcomes prediction.

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Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly that usually manifests in childhood and has a high mortality rate in the first year of life if not corrected. We present the case of a middle-aged woman who presented with exertional dyspnea and severe ischemic mitral regurgitation; further imaging revealed it was secondary to ALCAPA. The patient was referred for valvular reconstruction and surgical revascularization with left coronary artery reimplantation in the aorta. The patient had an adequate postoperative result and symptomatic improvement during follow-up. Although ALCAPA is a rare cause of mitral regurgitation in adults, its pathophysiology is like that of ischemic origin from atherosclerotic coronary disease, and its treatment is therefore similar to obtain adequate clinical improvement.