Clinical appearance of brucellosis in adults: fourteen years of experience

Aim: To indicate the clinical course and results of brucellosis in our region during the recent years, and to compare these findings to the literature. Materials and methods: This study was based on a review of the medical records of adult patients older than 14 years who were followed with the diagnosis of brucellosis from March 1997 to October 2010. Results: Included in this analysis were 317 patients, including 136 males (43%), with an average age of 40 ± 17 years. In 66 patients (21%), reproduction of Brucella was identified in the blood. Of the patients, 61% were identified as having the acute form, 35% the subacute form, and 4% the chronic form. Arthralgia, fever, weight loss, sacroiliitis, and spondylitis were the most frequent symptoms and findings accompanying the disease. There was a signifi cant relationship between advanced age and the development of both spondylitis and arthritis (P = 0.000 and P = 0.028, respectively). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the presence of spondylitis, sacroiliitis, and visceral abscesses (P = 0.001, P = 0.013, and P = 0.049, respectively). Conclusion: This study provides a review of the disease and its complications. Osteoarticular involvement, and particularly the presence of spondylitis in patients and the complications in elderly patients, should be studied. Laboratory parameters, the patient’s age, and the duration of symptoms may help to identify complicated cases.