HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Rapid Responses: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Priest, J. R. Articles by Bush, T. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Priest, J. R. Articles by Bush, T.

Brucellosis and Sacroiliitis: A Common Presentation of an Uncommon Pathogen

Stanford University School of Medicine (JP), Stanford
Division of Primary Care (DL, CW), Department of Medicine, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA
Division of Rheumatology (TB), Department of Medicine, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA

Correspondence: Corresponding author: James Priest, Stanford University School of Medicine, MSOB, Mail Code 5404, Stanford, CA 94305 (E-mail: jpriest{at}stanford.edu)

Musculoskeletal problems are the most common chief complaint in ambulatory medicine across all specialties, and back pain is one of the top 10 problems encountered by the general practitioner.^1,2 The differential diagnosis of lower back pain is exhaustive, but a history significant for constitutional symptoms or unusual exposures should prompt a work-up for an infectious cause. We describe the case of a 25-year-old man with a Brucella abortus sacroiliitis and possible orchiitis after consumption of unpasteurized cheese imported from El Salvador. The patient was successfully treated with gentamycin, rifampin, and doxycycline. Though the presentations of brucellosis are myriad, osteoarticular involvement of the axial skeleton is the most common presentation of this zoonotic infection.³ In the United States brucellosis is rarely encountered and is typically limited to people who are exposed during travel to endemic areas. Here we review briefly the epidemiology and presentation of a Brucella infection and current recommendations for treatment.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. A. Bowman, A. V. Neale, and P. Lupo Inside the March/April 2008 Issue and the Most Frequently-Read Articles in 2007 J Am Board Fam Med, March 1, 2008; 21(2): 87 - 90. [Full Text] [PDF]