title: [Brucellosis: case report and synopsis of 10 cases (1973-1992) in the Chur canton hospital].
abstract: A 33-year-old patient from former Yugoslavia presented with low back pain and fever. Plain X-rays and myelography were normal, but a technetium-99m scan was suspect for vertebral osteomyelitis. Serology and blood cultures were positive for Brucella (melitensis). Antibiotic therapy with tetracycline and rifampicine rapidly improved the signs and symptoms of the infection. A retrospective analysis of 11 cases of Brucellosis treated in the Kantonsspital, Chur, over the years 1973 to 1992 revealed that 9 patients were foreign workers from rural areas in the Mediterranean region (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece). The majority had a history of consuming milk and dairy products from their own farm animals up to a few months before the onset of symptoms. Blood cultures were positive in 5 cases (B. melitensis) while the remaining 6 had high titers of agglutinating antibodies. A diagnostic delay of several weeks to months was typical. Because Brucellosis usually presents with unspecific often flu-like symptoms, with unspecific laboratory findings, and with a varying array of organ manifestations a high index of suspicion is essential for a timely diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik, Kantonsspital Chur.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Canova
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Reinhart
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012293:Rifampin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012424:Rural Population; D013166:Spondylitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D013557:Switzerland; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D013752:Tetracycline; D012293:Rifampin
vernacular_title: Brucellose: Fallbericht und Zusammenstellung von 10 Fällen (1973-1992) am Kantonsspital Chur.