Chronic giardiasis: a rare cause of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a major cause of maldigestion/malabsorption syndromes. It is routinely diagnosed in clinical practice with the use of faecal elastase 1 levels, and pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy continues to be the mainstay of treatment. Numerous primary pancreatic and extrapancreatic causes for EPI have been established.

Stool cultures show a lack of impact in the management of acute gastroenteritis for hospitalized patients in the Bronx, New York.

Background: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is diagnosed with a presentation of > 1 episode of vomiting and > 3 episodes of diarrhea in a 24-h period. Treatment is supportive, however, in severe cases antibacterial treatment may be indicated. Stool cultures can detect the responsible pathogenic bacteria and can guide antibiotic treatment, however, the indication for and efficacy of stool cultures is debatable.