Role of clinical hematological, biochemical and serological assays in management of brucellosis

ABSTRACT

Brucellosis is an infectious disease. Brucellosis can be suspected by clinical presentation and may produce hematological and biochemical changes of liver function. Ninety nine patients of brucellosis and twenty normal individuals were included in this study. The cases were classified into 4 subgroups [1, 2, 3 and 4] according to the regimen of therapy applied. The brucella organisms were isolated, and were presented by blood culture in 60 cases and were negative in 39 cases. The clinical, hematological, liver function and serological tests were investigated before and two weeks following treatment. The main symptoms of brucella patients were fever 100%, headache 68.6%, arthralgia 66.7%, myalgia 68.7%, anorexia 25.3%, sweating 58.6%, rigors 51.5%, abdominal discomfort 17.2%, cough 9.1% and dysuria in 31.3%. The main signs include fever with mean of 38.9C, hepatomegaly 31.3% and splenomegaly in 49.5%. Before treatment, anemia was presented in 63.6%, leucopenia in 58.6%, monocytosis 61.6%, and ESR was high in 97.9% of cases. Liver function tests were affected in brucellosis in which hyperbilirubinemia in 34.3%, alkaline phosphatase enzyme was raised in 30.3%, aspartate transaminase enzyme was high in 27.3% and alanine transaminase enzyme was elevated in 33.3%. There were significant difference in the blood picture and liver function tests between the cases of brucella and the normal control [P <0.0001]. Two weeks after treatment all symptoms and signs were improved and disappeared