Characteristic of 12 cases of acute brucellosis of Brucella melitensis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region / 中华地方病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To identify the biotypes of blood culture positive Brucella in patients with acute brucellosis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (hereinafter referred to as Xinjiang), and to learn about the clinical characteristics of these patients. Methods:Among the 30 patients diagnosed with acute brucellosis in First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Shihezi University from January 2019 to July 2021, the positive strains of blood culture Brucella of 12 patients with acute brucellosis were used to identify the biotype by AMOS-PCR. Then the general and clinical data of the 12 patients were collected, including demographic characteristics, epidemiological characteristics, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, treatment and prognosis. Results:AMOS-PCR results showed that all 12 strains were Brucella melitensis. Among the 12 patients, 9 were males and 3 were females, all of whom had a clear history of livestock contact, and the onset time was concentrated in April to September. All 12 patients showed fever, followed by headache and dizziness (9/12), weakness (8/12), digestive symptoms (8/12), hyperhidrosis (7/12), lumbago and backache (6/12), and arthralgia (6/12). One patient was complicated with pleural effusion and pericardial effusion. One patient was complicated with pleural effusion, pelvic effusion and ascites. Only ascites occurred in 2 patients. Liver function was abnormal in 3 patients, lactate dehydrogenase increased in 6 patients, and blood creatinine decreased in 9 patients. Among the 12 patients, 10 patients were treated with rifampicin combined with doxycycline. The other 2 patients were treated with levofloxacin and doxycycline, supplemented by symptomatic treatment with hepatoprotective drugs due to impaired liver function. After discharge, the patients received out-of-hospital oral anti-infectious drugs for 1-2 courses (6 weeks each course), and all indicators returned to normal at 6 months and 12 months after discharge. Conclusions:All the 12 patients with acute brucellosis in Xinjiang are infected with Brucella melitensis. In addition to the common clinical features, patients are characterized by decreased creatinine and increased lactate dehydrogenase. The standardized anti- Brucella treatment is still the main treatment strategy.