AccScience Publishing / MI / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/mi.4634
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Characteristics and outcomes of pediatric brucellosis cases collected from a tertiary academic hospital in Saudi Arabia

Abrar K. Thabit1* Renad S. Nahhas2 Zain Y. Nemer2 Zahra I. Askar2 Walaa H. Alzahrani2 Sarah O. Alreeshi2 Manar O. Lashkar1
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1 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2 Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Submitted: 22 August 2024 | Accepted: 17 October 2024 | Published: 4 November 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Brucella spp., affecting different body systems and leading to multiple complications. Although brucellosis is prevalent in several regions, including Saudi Arabia, limited research has focused on childhood brucellosis. This study aimed to characterize the features and outcomes of brucellosis in pediatric patients. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study involving children (<18 years) with confirmed brucellosis (diagnosed through culture, serology, or both) who received antibiotic therapy. Subjects were stratified into two groups based on age: younger (≤8 years) and older (>8 years). We assessed treatment outcomes, including clinical cure, mortality, and hospital length of stay. A total of 20 patients were included, with 52.3% in the younger group and 47.7% in the older group. The majority were male (65%), with a mean age of 8.9 years, and 45% required hospitalization. Out of all the patients, only 6 (30%) reported consuming dairy products. Serologically, the baseline median antibody titers for Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus were 1:1280 and 1:640, respectively. In the younger group, half reported arthralgia and presented with fever. While white blood cell elevation was not significant, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and liver enzymes were elevated at baseline. The administered regimen varied, but about half of the patients received at least three antibiotics. All patients experienced clinical cures, and there were no deaths. This study highlights the characteristics of pediatric brucellosis in a country where the disease is endemic and provides evidence of positive prognosis associated with appropriate antibiotic therapy.

Keywords
Brucellosis
Brucella
Pediatric
Childhood
Zoonotic infection
Zoonosis
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
Abrar K. Thabit is an Editorial Board Member of this journal but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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