Brugada or not-Brugada: misdiagnosis of recorder-induced artifact

The Brugada-Brugada syndrome is a life threatening cardiac arrhythmia that features syncopal events or aborted sudden death in combination with electrocardiographic characteristics (ST-segment elevation of V(1)-V(3) and right bundle branch block). Typical ECG alterations were recorded in a young man who was admitted to our hospital after syncope and a Brugada-Brugada syndrome was suspected. The following days similar pathological ECG recordings of other patients were noticed. The electrocardiographic artifact was diagnosed as being caused by incorrect handling of the ECG recorder.