Introduction
Brucellosis is originally an infectious disease of domestic and wild
animals, caused by Brucellae , a small, nonmotile, and facultative
intracellular aerobic rod. This infection is transmitted to humans via
the consumption of infected unpasteurized animal products. Brucellosis
is also considered an occupational infection among shepherds, dairy
industry workers, and laboratory personnel. Endemic areas of Brucellosis
include countries of the Mediterranean Basin, and the Middle East such
as Iran, central Asia, and China (1). Therefore, those living in rural
areas of endemic countries are at high risk of being infected.
Development of symptoms and signs may be abrupt or insidious over
several days to weeks. The symptoms are variable and nonspecific,
including fever with variable patterns, night sweats, low back pain,
malaise, and weight loss (1).
definitive laboratory criteria ( not the case) for diagnosis are defined
as either the positive culture of blood, body fluid, or tissue or a
fourfold or greater rise in Brucella antibody titer ≥ 2 weeks apart (1).
A case is confirmed as Brucellosis when a clinically compatible illness
with definitive laboratory evidence of Brucella infection is
found.
A presumptive diagnosis of Brucellosis is made by Brucella total
antibody titer ≥ 1:160 by Standard Tube Agglutination (SAT) or detection
of Brucella DNA in a clinical specimen (1).
Complications of Brucellosis occur more frequently in adults than in
children. These complications can affect any organ system including
osteoarticular, genitourinary, neurologic, and cardiovascular systems.
One of the rare complications of Brucellae spondylodiscitis is Psoas
abscess (1).
Psoas abscess management consists of percutaneous or surgical drainage
and antibiotic therapy. Antibiotics alone are considered unlikely to be
curative unless the abscess is less than 3 cm in size (2).
We report a 14-year-old male patient with Psoas abscess due to
Brucellosis which was treated successfully with oral antibiotics alone.