Knee and the farm animals: An unusual presentation of Brucella melitensis masquerading as tuberculosis

In many developed countries, brucellosis has been successfully eradicated. However, brucellosis, with its myriad presentations, continues to be a clinical and diagnostic challenge in primarily agrarian countries such as India. We present a case of a rare manifestation of brucellosis i.e., septic arthritis of the knee joint associated with a lytic lesion of the proximal tibia. The patient belonged to a Brucella endemic country, and clinical features were of chronic reactive knee arthritis with synovial hypertrophy and effusion. Advanced diagnostic methods played a pivotal role in excluding the diagnosis of tuberculosis, and thus unnecessary administration of antitubercular therapy and initiating focused narrowed anti-Brucella management, achieving the goal of antimicrobial stewardship also.

Keywords

Antimicrobial stewardship, Brucella melitensis, brucellosis, knee, lytic lesion, septic arthritis, synovial hypertrophy

Citation

Sardana R, Vaish A, Merh A, Butta H, Vaishya R, Mendiratta L. Knee and the farm animals: An unusual presentation of Brucella melitensis masquerading as tuberculosis. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2019 Mar; 37(1): 123-126

URI

https://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/198851

Collections

Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology

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