ABSTRACT
AIM: Brucellosis is an important disease in developing countries. We aimed to determine the epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of brucellosis, which still has a high morbidity in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-two patients with brucellosis, monitored at our clinic from January 2004 to July 2010, were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The average age was determined to be 44.8 ± 18 years, and 40 of the patients were female (55.6%). The most frequent transmission route was the use of raw milk and dairy products, in 45 of the patients (62.5%). The most frequent complaints were joint pain, high fever, weakness, low back pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms, whereas the most frequent physical examination findings were fever, osteoarticular involvement, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and lymphadenopathy. All of the patients were positive for Rose Bengal testing. The standard tube agglutination titer was 1/160 or higher in 64 (88.9%) patients. Brucella melitensis was isolated from blood cultures of 13 (18.1%) patients and bone marrow cultures of 7 (9.7%) patients. Complications of sacroiliitis in 6 (8.3%), spondylodiscitis in 4 (5.6%), endocarditis in 2 (2.8%), neurobrucellosis in 1 (1.4%), and epididymo-orchitis in 1 (1.4%) of the patients were observed. CONCLUSION: Brucellosis has various clinical presentations. It should be included in the differential diagnosis of high fever and joint pains in endemic countries.
Subject(s)
Brucellosis , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Brucellosis/complications , Brucellosis/diagnosis , Brucellosis/drug therapy , Brucellosis/epidemiology , Dairy Products/adverse effects , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Turkey/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Brucellosis is an important disease in developing countries. Endocarditis is a complication of brucellosis with the highest mortality. Although the most generally accepted therapy is the combination of medication and surgery, it has been reported that antibiotic treatment only might also be adequate. We present two cases for whom antibiotic treatments were initiated, and a follow-up surgery was planned for one of them. The surgery could not be done due to death of the patient, but the other patient fully recovered with antibiotic treatment only. Optimum treatment and prognostic criteria are not well defined for brucella endocarditis, but medical therapy alone can be considered for some chosen patients.
