Neurobrucellosis: Two cases, two different presentation

Abstract

Brucellosis is an infectious disease seen particularly in developing countries with a high rate of morbidity. It can affect any system in the body and lead to different clinical presentations. The patients presented here draw attention because they were different presentations of rarely encountered central nervous system involvement. Case 1, a 17-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital with symptoms including sudden-onset fever, headache, vomiting, and being unable to speak and walk. On physical examination, the patient had a fever of 37.5 °C, he was lethargic and had no orientation and cooperation. Lumbar puncture was performed. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings were consistent with purulent meningitis. Case 2, it was learned that a 34-year-old male patient went to a physician two weeks ago due to a decrease in hearing. He was brought to the emergency room because of the deterioration in his time and place orientation and his symptoms of agitation gradually increased after a headache that started in the morning. It was learned from his relatives that similar symptoms happened again about a month ago, but he did not consult a physician because it resolved spontaneously within a few hours and he had been using depression treatment for more than a year. In the physical examination, his temperature was 37.2 °C, the patient was unconscious, his orientation and cooperation were limited. There was no neck stiffness, and Brudzinski’s neck phenomenon and Kernig’s sign were negative. Both patients were diagnosed as having neurobrucellosis through blood and CSF examinations and they both recovered with appropriate treatment. Here, we report and discuss two patients with neurobrucellosis with different clinical features.