Evaluation of epidemiologic, clinical, and paraclinical features of children with brucellosis hospitalized in two teaching hospital related to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, during the years 2010-2016

BACKGROUND: The clinical manifestations of brucellosis are very diverse. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiological, laboratory, and clinical characteristics in pediatrics patients with brucellosis. METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the population included patients under age of 18 years who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of brucellosis in Razi hospital, Qaemshahr City, and Bu-ali Sina hospital, Sari City, Iran, during the years 2010-2016. Twenty seven patients with a mean age of 12.5 years including 9 girls and 18 boys had inclusion criteria and entered to study. Most patients (70.3%) were in the age range of 12-18 years. RESULTS: Twenty one patients (77.8%) consumed unpasteurized dairy products and 10 patients (37%) had direct contact with livestock. Most of the initial complaints were fever in 13 cases (48.1%), joint pain in 12 cases (44.4%), and limbs pain in 5 cases (18.5%). The most common clinical findings were arthritis (14.8%) and splenomegaly (7.4%). In laboratory findings, 11.1% had leukopenia, 48.1% had anemia, 3.7% had thrombocytopenia, 29.6% had a moderate increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), 25.9% had high increase in ESR, and 18.5% had leukocytosis. Clinical signs and laboratory parameters in the study included chills and fever, joints and limbs pain, arthritis, splenomegaly, increase in ESR, anemia, leukocytosis, and leukopenia. CONCLUSION: In patients with fever and skeletal or joints pain, brucellosis should be considered as a possible disease, and initial diagnostic measures should be taken, especially in children. Signs and symptoms of brucellosis are various and nonspecific. Educating the high risk families plays an important role in management of disease.