Brucellosis in pregnancy: a 6-year clinical analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To review our experience with brucellosis in pregnancy and to characterize the risk factors, clinical presentations, the rates of possible perinatal complications, and the effect of hospitalization on pregnancy outcomes.


METHODS
We reviewed the medical records of 21 pregnant women at a tertiary care hospital and 12 at a maternity hospital, who presented with acute, subacute, chronic, or relapsing brucellosis. Their risk factors and clinical presentations were defined. The reproductive outcomes of 29 cases were compared within themselves according to the hospitals they were managed and with the outcomes for all women followed in the maternity hospital for the period from January 2008 through December 2008.


RESULTS
Consumption of unpasteurized dairy products had occurred in 92.3% of the cases. Spontaneous abortion, intrauterine fetal death, and preterm delivery rates were 24.14, 3.45, and 6.9%, respectively. Only spontaneous abortion rate substantially exceeded that among the general population of pregnant women in our maternity hospital (P<0.05). Hospitalization did not affect pregnancy outcomes significantly (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Brucellosis in pregnancy is associated with increased incidence of spontaneous abortion without an association with the magnitude of serum agglutination titer, the clinical type of brucellosis and hospitalization. In endemic areas with inhabitants of low socioeconomic class and low educational level, educating women of childbearing age about brucellosis may help to prevent the disease and its complications in pregnancy.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yuzuncu Yil University School of Medicine, Van, Turkey. mkurdoglu@yyu.edu.tr
Mertihan
M
Kurdoglu
Ertan
E
Adali
Zehra
Z
Kurdoglu
Mustafa Kasim
MK
Karahocagil
Ali
A
Kolusari
Recep
R
Yildizhan
Zehra
Z
Kucukaydin
Hanim Guler
HG
Sahin
Mansur
M
Kamaci
Hayrettin
H
Akdeniz
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002002:Brucella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial