BRUCELLOSIS: A RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF 523 BRUCELLOSIS CASES FROM WESTERN ANATOLIA, TURKEY

Objective: We investigated epidemiological and clinical features of brucellosis within a period of 16 years in Western Anatolia of Turkey which is a moderately endemic area of the disease. We aimed to clarify our future clinical approach for new cases by observing changes in years. Material and Method : We evaluated brucellosis cases retrospectively which were followed from 1997 to 2012 in our hospital. Our hospital is a regional hospital with a 1100-bed capacity and serves a population of nearly 4,000,000 people in a province located in the Western Turkey. Cases were divided into four equal groups based on follow up years to evaluate epidemiological and clinical features as well as concomitant complications. Results: Totally 523 brucellosis cases were evaluated. Patients within the productive ages were affected the most. Consumption of unpasteurized milk and milk products was the most common route for transmission. The most commonly identified clinical finding was fever (51.6%). Brucella standard agglutination test was positive in 94.3% of the cases. Brucella spp was recovered from blood cultures in 22.4% of the cases. Osteoarticular system (29%) was the most commonly involved system. Increased in both the rate of osteoarticular involvement and usage of a combination of three antibiotics was found in recent years. Conclusion: Clinical presentation of brucellosis has changed over time and the most prominent finding was the increase in the ratio of focal organ involvements.