Abstract: Brucellosis is an infectious disease, frequently encountered in some areas of our country. It may involve multiple organ system of human body. However, spondylitis, diskitis, paravertebral and epidural abscesses are rare complications of brucellosis in children, it is more prevalent in adult patients with prolonged illness prior to treatment.
Case report: A Four year old boy presented with a history of prolonged fever, lower back pain and inability to walk. He was previously hospitalized for brucellosis after a history of animal contact one year back which had been treated with rifampin and co-trimoxazole for six weeks with good outcome. At this hospital presentation, the magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) showed destructive lesion over L5-S1 with paravertebral abscess formation. Both blood culture and paravertebral pus collection were culture positive for Brucella. The patient was successfully treated by surgical drainage and combination antibiotic therapy which comprised gentamicin rifampicin and co-trimoxazole.
Conclusion: Brucella spinal infection is a rare complication in children. A high index of suspicion is required with confirmation of the pathology by use of MRI and aspiration of abscess contents. Paravertebral abscess draining plus the administration of gentamicin, rifampicin and co-trimoxazole resulted in an excellent therapeutic outcome in our patient.
Keywords: spinal abscess, Brucellosis.
Title: Spinal Abscess: A Rare Complication of Brucellosis in Children
Author: Ashwaq Altawil, Roaa Zailiae, Mohammed Alshehri, Abdulsalam Alawfi
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences
ISSN 2348-5728 (Online)
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