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Brucellosis mimicking Henoch-Schönlein purpura
David Massasso1, Kathryn Gibson
1Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, NSW. david.massasso@dr.nswama.com.au
Abstract:
A young male immigrant from Syria with a vasculitic-appearing leg rash, asymmetrical polyarthritis, microscopic haematuria, and raised inflammatory markers was provisionally diagnosed with Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Skin biopsy showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Low-grade fevers persisted despite non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy, and Brucella sp. was subsequently grown from both blood and synovial fluid aspirates. Further tests gave positive results for B. abortus, and triple antibiotic therapy produced a rapid clinical response. Cutaneous vasculitis has rarely been described in brucellosis, and this is the first report in the English medical literature of brucellosis mimicking Henoch-Schönlein purpura.
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