title: Skeletal Involvement of Brucella melitensis in Children: A Systematic Review.
abstract: Brucellosis is a protean disease and should be excluded in any febrile child with a constellation of symptoms such as fever, malaise, sweating, arthralgia, and joint swelling in endemic areas. Skeletal system involvement is the most common source of complaints in brucellosis. The frequency of skeletal involvement in children is 6.4% to 73.5%. There are some controversies regarding the most common sites of involvement: sacroiliac versus peripheral joints. In the vast majority of cases, peripheral joint involvement in pediatric brucellosis has a monoarticular pattern, although there is no agreement about the most commonly involved peripheral joint. In this systematic review, published articles that describe the bone involvement of Brucella melitensis, as the most prevalent kind of the microorganism in the region, in children are evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;
authors.forename: Anahita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanaei Dashti
authors.forename: Abdollah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karimi
keywords: Arthritis; Brucella melitensis; Brucellosis; Sacroiliitis; Skeletal involvement; Spondylitis; Systematic review