Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Brucellosis in Hospitalized Patients in Kosovo

Background: Brucellosis is recognized as a clinical and health problem in underdeveloped countries. This research is a descriptive study to present the epidemiological features, clinical aspects and laboratory results of hospitalized patients in the University Clinical Center of Kosova, Infectious Diseases Clinic in Prishtina in a six-year period. Materials and Methods: 124 hospitalized patients with confirmed brucellosis were included in the study. Sociodemographic, clinical, diagnostic and data regarding the treatment were collected from patients’ medical records. A serological test was used for diagnosis of the disease. Results: The mean age of patients was 30.78±17.24 years with a range 2-74 years. 44 (35.5%) of them were females and 80 (64.5%) males, p<0.01. Most affected age groups were 11-20 years old. The highest brucellosis rate was observed in children and students (30.6%). Osteoarticular manifestations were the most common forms of localized disease, which affected 44.45 % of patients. A combination of streptomycin and doxycycline the first three weeks, continuing rifampicin and doxycycline was the most applied treatment protocol.