Exudative pleural effusion due to brucellosis in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Pleural involvement is a rare presentation of brucellosis. We report a patient referred for the evaluation of fever, right-sided pleural effusion and hilar lymph node enlargement. The pleural fluid revealed exudative characteristics with the predominance of neutrophils. Brucella melitensis was isolated from bone marrow, pleural effusion and blood cultures. The diagnosis was also confirmed by demonstration of a high Brucella agglutinin titre. The patient was successfully treated with rifampicin and doxicycline for three months.