Brucellosis associated with acute kidney injury and pancytopenia: a case report and review of the literature
Abstract
Brucella infection frequently involves multiple organ systems, such as muscles, bones, liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, and others. Its clinical manifestations lack specificity. Acute kidney injury complicated by haemophagocytic syndrome is particularly rare in the course of brucellosis. We described a 51-year-old man with brucellosis presenting with acute kidney injury and haemophagocytic syndrome. His primary manifestations included unexplained fever, progressive pancytopenia, progressive elevation of serum creatinine, imaging demonstrating increased renal cortical echogenicity, and positive blood culture results for Brucella. Following combined anti-Brucella therapy and etoposide (VP-16) chemotherapy, the patient's symptoms and renal function improved significantly. This case highlights the need to consider rare pathogens in cases of unexplained fever, as the clinical features of haemophagocytic syndrome lack specificity. Detailed history-taking, definitive laboratory findings, and awareness of rare complications of brucellosis facilitate early diagnosis and management.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a case report, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Structural and topological analysis of thiosemicarbazone-based metal complexes: computational and experimental study of bacterial biofilm inhibition and antioxidant activity
- Toward better cures for Mycobacterium abscessus lung disease
- Challenges for global antibiotic regimen planning and establishing antimicrobial resistance targets: implications for the WHO Essential Medicines List and AWaRe antibiotic book dosing
- Design, Synthesis and In vitro Antitubercular Effect of New Chalcone Derivatives Coupled with 1,2,3‐Triazoles: A Computational Docking Techniques
- Upregulation of pmrA, pmrB, pmrC, phoQ, phoP, and arnT genes contributing to resistance to colistin in superbug Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from human clinical samples in Tehran, Iran
- Whole-genome sequencing of clinical isolates of Citrobacter Europaeus in China carrying blaOXA−48 and blaNDM−1
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.