A retrospective study on the identification of predictors of bacteremia and a focal infection in human brucellosis in Turkey.

INTRODUCTION

İn this study, we aimed to identify rapid-result markers to help clinicians identify and treat focal involvement and bacteremia of brucellosis at an early stage.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Patients were divided into two groups: with or without focal involvement and with or without bacteremia. The clinical and laboratory findings of the patients were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

A total of one hundred and thirty-nine patients were included in the study. In multivariate analysis, high C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = 0.012, OR = 1.02, 95% CI:1.00-1.04) and hip pain (p = 0.043, OR = 2.93, 95% CI:1.03-8.31) were found to predict focal involvement, and high CRP (p = 0.012, OR = 1.03, 95% CI:1.01-1.05) and low neutrophil - lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p = 0.010, OR = 2.68, 95% CI:1.26-5.69) were found to predict bacteremia. AUC value of CRP (cutoff:15.5 mg/L) was 0.657 (sensitivity:61.5%, specificity:71.2%) in predicting focal involvement. For Brucella bacteremia, the AUC values of CRP (cutoff: 8.2 mg/L) and NLR (cutoff: 1.74) were 0.685 (sensitivity:76.7%, specificity:52.9%) and 0.607 (sensitivity:33.3%, specificity:60.7%), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Patients with hip pain and elevated CRP at the time of admission should be evaluated for brucellosis complications. In addition, it should be taken into consideration that patients with low NLR and high CRP have increased risk for Brucella bacteremia.