Brucellosis presenting as fever of unknown origin admitted in a general hospital of non-endemic area: a clinical analysis of 11 cases

Abstract

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of brucellosis presenting as fever of unknown origin in non-endemic area. Methods Clinical data of 11 patients with fever of unknown origin, who were admitted in a general hospital of non-endemic area from Jan 2013 to Jan 2017 and diagnosed as brucellosis by blood culture, were retrospectively analyzed. Results There were 8 males and 3 females aged 40-70 years.The patients were admitted with or without accompanied symptoms.The patients were initially presented in rheumatology (1 case), neurology (1 case), emergency (4 cases), hematology (1 case), orthopedics (2 cases) and pneumology (2 cases) departments, respectively.The time from onset to presentation was 0.5-7.0 months.The clinical manifestations were nonspecific, and blood cultures of Brucella were positive between 2 to 5 weeks with a mean of 3 weeks. Time to diagnosis was 1 to 9 months with a mean of 4 months.All patients were transferred to infectious hospital when the diagnosis was confirmed.The telephone follow-up showed that none of the patients had fever after discharged. Conclusion Brucellosis should not be neglected in the differential diagnosis of FUO in non-endemic area, and blood culture is important for a definitive diagnosis. Key words: Fever of unknown origin; Brucellosis; Blood culture