Unilateral optic neuritis as a presentation of neurobrucellosis

Abstract

Neurobrucellosis manifesting as optic neuritis is a rare disease in childhood. We report a case of neurobrucellosis in a 11 year old girl leading to visual impairment and headache. Physical examination revealed mild oedema of right tibiotarsic joint and optic neuritis. Investigations showed CSF pleocytosis and a Brucella serum agglutination titer of 1/640. Complete reversal of the symptoms was observed after appropriate antibiotic treatment. To our knowledge only four cases of neurobrucellosis manifesting with visual impairment in childhood are previously reported in literature.

Keywords

• Optic neuritis
• Neurobrucellosis
• Brucellosis