Brucellosis. An evaluation of 55 cases

In this study, 55 cases diagnosed as brucellosis between January 1998December 2004 were evaluated retrospectively in terms of epidemiological, clinical, laboratory findings and treatment. Of the patients, 34 were male and 21 female. Mean age was 43.40 +/- 14.89 (ranges of 17-74). Rates of acute, subacute and chronic infection forms were 50.9, 30.9 and 18.2%, respectively. The most common mode of transmission was consumption of unpasteurized milk and milk products (38.2%). The main symptoms were malaise (81.8%), fever (76.4%), sweating (70.9%), and arthralgia (60.0%). The most frequent signs were hepatomegaly (34.5%), splenomegaly (25.5%), lymphadenomegaly (10.9%). Standard tube agglutination test was positive in 92.7% of the patients. Total culture positivity was 43.6% (21 blood, 2 CSF, 1 abscess specimen). Focal diseases were observed in 36.4% of the patients (spondylodiscitis 16.4%, neurobrucellosis 10.9%, paravertebral abscess 7.3%, endocarditis 1.8%). The most frequently preferred antimicrobial regimen was doxycline and streptomycin combination (47.3%). Four patients underwent surgery because of paravertebral abscess (three cases) and endocarditis (one case). The relapse rate was 1.8%.