Research progress on complications of Brucellosis

Abstract

Brucellosis is a common zoonotic disease that is widely spread worldwide and poses a major threat to human health. Clinically, it often presents with non-specific symptoms such as fever, excessive sweating, malaise, myalgia, arthralgia, loss of appetite, weight loss, and enlarged liver, spleen and lymph nodes. The disease has a long and recurrent course, often accumulating in multiple systems and organs. Of these, osteoarticular involvement is the most common complication, with a prevalence of approximately 2-77%, usually manifesting as spondylitis, sacroiliac arthritis and peripheral arthritis. Hepatosplenomegaly is seen in about 50% of patients with brucellosis, and gastrointestinal disturbances such as abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting are common. Although respiratory involvement is less common, pneumonia, pleurisy, pleural effusion, and pulmonary nodules have been reported. Besides, approximately 2-20% of cases involve infections of the male genitourinary system, mainly manifesting as unilateral epididymal-orchitis and orchitis. The most serious complication facing brucellosis is cardiovascular involvement, and although the overall mortality rate of brucellosis is about 1% and the incidence of brucellosis endocarditis is less than 2%, more than 80% of deaths are associated with endocarditis. Furthermore, brucellosis is complicated by hematologic disease, with anemia occurring in approximately 20-53% of children during the acute phase. In addition, the neurological incidence of brucellosis is about 0.5-25%, mainly manifested as meningitis. In this study, we review the multisystem complications of brucellosis with the aim of improving early diagnosis, timely treatment and prevention of long-term complications.

Selection of treatment strategies for lumbar Brucella spondylitis: a retrospective clinical study

“…For patients who have not experienced pain relief after rigorous drug therapy, have severe vertebral destruction, and significant compression of the spinal cord and nerves, surgical treatment is necessary ( 18 ). The goal of surgery is to remove the lesions, relieve pain, restore spinal stability, and regain spinal and spinal cord function, ultimately achieving rapid recovery.…”

The challenge of managing ischemic stroke in brucellosis: a case report

“…Its highly elusive and disabling nature makes it a significant concern. Involvement of the central nervous system in brucellosis is relatively rare, accounting for 0.5%–25% of cases ( 2 ). The atypical clinical manifestations of the disease, along with the lack of specific changes in CSF and imaging, contribute to a high prevalence of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis during the initial stages ( 3 ).…”

Incidence and warning signs for complications of human brucellosis: a multi-center observational study from China

“…Large-scale epidemiological studies have reported complication rates ranging from 27.7 to 90% [ 11 , 14 ]. The main affected anatomical sites were the osteoarticular, hematologic, and genitourinary systems, with incidence ranging from 2 to 77%, 2% to 53%, and 2% to 20%, respectively [ 15 ]. In this study, complications were observed in 54.8% of brucellosis cases, with osteoarticular involvement being the most common, consistent with previous studies.…”