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Microbes & Immunity

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Characteristics and outcomes of pediatric

brucellosis cases collected from a tertiary
academic hospital in Saudi Arabia

2
2
2
Abrar K. Thabit * , Renad S. Nahhas , Zain Y. Nemer , Zahra I. Askar ,
1
2
Walaa H. Alzahrani , Sarah O. Alreeshi , and Manar O. Lashkar 1
2
1 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
2 Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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
*Corresponding author:
Abrar K. Thabit groups based on age: younger (≤8 years) and older (>8 years). We assessed treatment
(akthabit@kau.edu.sa) outcomes, including clinical cure, mortality, and hospital length of stay. A total of
Citation:Thabit AK, Nahhas RS, 20 patients were included, with 52.3% in the younger group and 47.7% in the older
Nemer ZY, et al. Characteristics group. The majority were male (65%), with a mean age of 8.9 years, and 45% required
and outcomes of pediatric hospitalization. Out of all the patients, only 6 (30%) reported consuming dairy
brucellosis cases collected from a
tertiary academic hospital in Saudi products. Serologically, the baseline median antibody titers for Brucella melitensis
Arabia. Microbes & Immunity. and Brucella abortus were 1:1280 and 1:640, respectively. In the younger group,
2025;2(1):70-77. half reported arthralgia and presented with fever. While white blood cell elevation
doi: 10.36922/mi.4634
was not significant, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and liver
Received: August 22, 2024 enzymes were elevated at baseline. The administered regimen varied, but about half
1st revised: September 24, 2024 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
2nd revised: October 17, 2024
brucellosis in a country where the disease is endemic and provides evidence of
Accepted: October 17, 2024 positive prognosis associated with appropriate antibiotic therapy.
Published Online: November 4,
2024
Keywords: Brucellosis; Brucella; Pediatric; Childhood; Zoonotic infection; Zoonosis
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Brucellosis, also known as Mediterranean fever or Malta fever, is a common zoonotic
properly cited. infectious disease caused by Brucella spp., a genus within the family Brucellaceae, which
Publisher’s Note: AccScience includes 10 other species. Brucella spp. are small, non-sporing, aerobic, non-motile
Publishing remains neutral with Gram-negative intracellular coccobacilli. The species most commonly implicated in
1
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional human infections are Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis, and Brucella
2
affiliations. canis. The first two species are the most prevalent in Saudi Arabia. The disease mainly
Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 70 doi: 10.36922/mi.4634