Classical Presentation of Acute Pyelonephritis in a Case of Brucellosis

Although Brucella species is known to affect almost all organs in humans, renal involvement presenting as acute pyelonephritis remains a rare entity in brucellosis. We report the case of a female patient who presented with symptoms of fever with chills, right loin pain and dysuria in the emergency room. Blood cultures drawn at the time of admission grew Brucella spp., but no organisms were isolated from urine culture although urinalysis data was indicative of urinary tract infection. Empiric therapy with piperacillin/tazobactam plus gentamicin relieved her symptoms. However, the treatment was switched to doxycycline plus rifampicin once the blood culture result was obtained.