Analysis of the Clinical Characteristics of Neurobrucellosis in Children
ZHANG Yali
JIA Peisheng
MU Manman
LIU Yuehua
WEI Erhu
Abstract：Objective To analyze and summarize the clinical features of 10 children with neurobrucellosis(NB),so as to improve the clinician's understanding of this disease.Methods Ten children with NB admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2017 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.The case data including general information,epidemiology,clinical manifestations,laboratory test results,cranial MRI,etiological detection,pathological results,treatment options and prognosis were described and analyzed.Results Among the 10 NB children,there were 6 males and 4 females,and 6 had a history of contact with sheep.All 10 children had fever and headache,8 had vomiting,and 1 had computational dysfunction and visuospatial dysfunction.Lymph node enlargement was found in 5 children and meningeal irritation sign was positive in 1 child.The cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell count was elevated in 9 children,mainly lymphocytes;the cerebrospinal fluid protein was elevated in 9 children.Cranial MRI showed spotty and patchy long T1 and long T2 abnormal signals in 9 children.Pathological examination of brain tissue in one child showed a large number of lymphocytes and neutrophils infiltrating the lesion,some histiocytes,obvious vascular endothelial swelling,and focal necrosis.Two children were misdiagnosed as"brain tumor"and"tuberculous meningitis"respectively at the beginning of the disease.Six children were treated with ceftriaxone sodium,rifampicin and doxycycline,and 4 children were treated with rifampicin,doxycycline and compound sulfamethoxazole,all of which achieved good efficacy.No neurological sequelae were found in the 10 children.Conclusion The clinical manifestations of NB are diverse and lack specificity,with fever and headache being common.The white blood cell count in the cerebrospinal fluid is elevated,mainly lymphocytes,and protein is elevated.Glucose can be normal or decreased,and chloride can be normal,which needs to be differentiated from tuberculous meningitis,brain tumors and other diseases.Inflammation is the main manifestation on cranial imaging of children with NB,and long T1 and long T2 signals are mainly spotty and patchy on cranial MRI.The combined treatment of doxycycline,rifampicin and ceftriaxone sodium is often used to treat NB,with good prognosis.
Keywords：neurobrucellosisclinical characteristicszoonosis
Publication Date：2026-05-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1776-1780 )