BRUCELLOSIS in CHILDHOOD: A SINGLE CENTER EXPERIENCE

Objective: Although brucellosis is a endemic zoonotic disease in our country, the number of children case series related to this disease is quite low. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cases of pediatric brucellosis in our clinic and to contribute to the literature. Materials and Method: In this study, 80 pediatric patients with the diagnosis of brucellosis follow-up by our clinic between 1 January 2009-30 September 30 2018 were conducted retrospectively. Results: Of the 80 patients, 58 (72.5%) were male and 22 (27.5%) were female and the mean age was 11.35±3.92 (6 months-17 years). Living in a rural area was 71.3%, animal husbandry was 18.8%, consumption of non-pasteurized milk/dairy products 82.5% and a family history of brucellosis was 30%. Of the patients, 65% were acute and 35% were subacute brucellosis. Brucella spp. in the blood culture was found as 17.5%, in bone marrow culture was 6.3%, and in cerebrospinal fluid culture was 2.5%. Among the complications, the most common was arthritis (26.3%), and less frequently sacroiliitis (3.8%), neurobrucellosis (3.8%) and genitourinary involvement (2.5%) were observed. Congenital brucellosis was detected in one patient, Henoch-Sch？enlein Purpura associated with brucellosis in one patient and Immun Thrombocytopenic Purpura associated with brucellosis in two patients. 66.3% of the cases were hospitalized. The mean hospitalization stay was 9.19 ± 8.18 (3-52) days. All patients were treated with a combined regimen. The treatment-related side effect was 8.8%. Three patients had relapse, and no mortality was detected. Conclusion: Brucellosis continues to be a serious public health problem in our country. Although infection is considered as a common occupational disease among adults engaged in animal husbandry, children are at risk for this disease due to the risk of foodborne transmission