Clinical characteristics of 188 brucellosis patients

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical manifestations and multi-system damage of brucellosis and provide evidence for the prevention and clinical diagnosis. Methods The clinical data of 188 brucellosis cases were collected from the Sixth People’s Hospital of Shenyang and Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from 2012 to 2015, and were analyzed by descriptive analysis. Results Among the 188 brucellosis cases, the ratio of male to female was 4.88: 1. All cases were aged 7 months to 72 years old, and 60.11% (113 cases) were concentrated in 41 to 60 years old. The incidence reached the peak during April to July each year (132 cases, 70.21%) . There were 174 cases (92.55%) with clear contact history. The main clinical manifestations of acute and subacute patients were fever (172 cases, 91.49%, in which 164 cases were irregular fever) , arthralgia (57.98%) , hyperhidrosis (54.26%) , splenomegaly (45.74%) , fatigue (40.96%) and low back pain (30.32%) . The laboratory test showed WBC reduction, anemia and ALT elevation, ESR and CRP elevation were the most prominent. Fatigue and arthralgia were obvious for chronic phase patients. Some patients had rare complications such as disc herniation (14 cases) , endocarditis (2 cases) and cerebral infarction (1 case) . Conclusions People is all susceptible with brucella, and spring is the frequently occurring season. Brucella should be considered when patients with obvious contact history, fever with arthralgia and high levels of ESR and CRP. Key words: Brucellosis; Clinical characteristics; Complications