Postpartum Bilateral Sacroiliitis caused by Brucella Infection

Abstract

Early diagnosis of this septic sacroiliitis is difficult because symptoms are nonspecific during the postpartum period. In this case we dicscuss about a patient with bilateral buttock pain unresolved with painkillers and rest, after an induction delivery. A 31-year-old woman was presented to our clinic on the second week of postpartum period with bilateral buttock pain. She was subfebrile and had no apparent abnormality on her pelvic X-ray. The pain was so severe that she was unable to walk properly. Sacroiliac MRI during the acute episode of pain showed bone marrow oedema and fluid within the bilateral sacroiliac joint. She was found seropositive for brucellosis and the patient completely recovered with antibiotherapy treatment. We stopped our patient from breastfeeding when the Rose Bengal test turned out positive. Brucella sacroiliitis should be considered in puerperium period women when buttock pain and difficulty in walking are present and pain is unresponsive to analgesics.

Keywords

• buttock pain
• magnetic resonance imaging
• puerperium