Congenital Brucellosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Knowledge of the spectrum of presentations and the outcome of congenital brucellosis should expedite diagnosis and improve prognostication.

A systematic review of literature of cases of congenital brucellosis was performed on October 10, 2017 (registered as PROSPERO CRD42017072061).

A case seen by the authors was added to the review, yielding 44 reported cases of which 22 (50%) were from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or Kuwait. For cases with the gestational age reported, 23 of 37 (62%) were preterm. The species was Brucella melitensis in 35 cases, Brucella abortus in 3 cases and not documented in 6 cases. The diagnosis was based on a positive blood culture from the first day of life in 20 cases (45%). Presentation was usually typical for a bacteremic infant of that GA, but two infants were asymptomatic at diagnosis. There were two recurrences and seven deaths (six in preterm infants), but the role of Brucella infection in the deaths was not clear.

Brucellosis remains a concern in endemic countries, adversely affecting pregnancy and very rarely causing neonatal infection. Prematurity appeared to be the prime cause of death in neonates with congenital brucellosis.