Brucellosis in childhood: retrospective evaluation of 37 cases and review of the literature

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics and treatment results of pediatric patients followed up with the diagnosis of brucellosis in our clinic.Methods: Patients who were followed up with the diagnosis of brucellosis in Kayseri Training and Research Hospital, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic between October 2016 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.Results: A total of 37 patients, 26 (70.3%) male, were included in the study. The mean age of the patients whose ages ranged from 1 to 17 years was 9.3±4.3 years. Unpasteurized milk and/or dairy products were consumed in 86.5% of the patients and 48.6% had a family history of brucellosis. Joint pain (75.7%) was the most common presenting complaint. In the laboratory evaluation, 8.1% of the patients had leukopenia, 2.7% had thrombocytopenia and 21.4% had ALT elevation. Doxycycline plus rifampicin (43.2%) was the most commonly preferred treatment regimen. Addition of aminoglycoside to initial therapy in hospitalized patients was statistically higher than in outpatients (81.2% vs. 23.8%) (p=0.001). During the follow-up, relapse developed in a total of 4 (10.8%) patients, 3 of whom were outpatients. There was no statistical relationship between the initial treatment regimen and relapse (p=0.418).Conclusion: In conclusion, brucellosis should be kept in mind in terms of differential diagnosis in patients who present with joint pain in our country and who have cytopenia and/or isolated aminotransferase elevation in their investigations.Keywords: Child, Brucellosis, Relapse

Keywords

• çocuk
• bruselloz
• lökopeni
• relaps
• trombositopeni
• child
• brucellosis
• leukopenia
• relapse
• thrombocytopenia