Clinical and Para-clinical Features of Brucellosis With and Without Spondylodiscitis

Background: Brucellosis is a common zoonotic disease with protean clinical manifestations. Osteoarticular involvement is the most common complication of the disease. This study aimed to compare the clinical and para-clinical manifestations of brucellosis among the patients with and without spondylodiscitis. Methods: In this comparative and cross-sectional study, 135 patients having brucellosis with and without spondylodiscitis and admitted to Sina hospital in Hamadan, Iran from March 2009 to March 2014 were included. Clinical and para-clinical data of the patients were obtained from their medical records in the hospital based on a designed checklist. Results: Thirty-five patients having brucellar spondylodiscitis (BS) with the mean age of 55.60 ± 14.31 years, and 100 patients having brucellosis without BS with the mean age of 43.27 ± 18.35 years were examined. A significant difference was found between the mean age of the patients with spondylodiscitis and that of those without spondylodiscitis (P 0.001). All patients with spondylodiscitis complained of back pain and vertebral tenderness, while 60% of the patients without BS suffered from back pain but experienced no vertebral tenderness (P = 0.003). The most common vertebral involvement in spinal MRI of the patients with BS was L4-L5 (45.7%). Patients with spondylodiscitis had more increased ESR and CRP than those without spondylodiscitis (P 0.001). Conclusion: It is recommended that Brucellar spondylodiscitis be considered in the differential diagnosis of the patients with prolonged fever, back pain, and vertebrae tenderness in the endemic areas