Brucellosis Presenting With Pancytopenia and Foot Drop

Abstract

Brucellosis is a zoonotic bacterial infection and is highly treatable. Despite being eradicated from most developed countries, its prevalence in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia pose a high risk of morbidity if undiagnosed. It mainly affects the reticuloendothelial system and manifests as fever, constitutional symptoms, hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly, but other organ systems can also be involved. Neurobrucellosis is a type of brucellosis in which the central or peripheral nervous systems are affected. It can present with a myriad of signs and symptoms such as stroke, meningitis, and cranial nerve palsies. We present a rare case of a 16year-old boy with brucellosis who presented with pancytopenia and foot drop. He was subsequently managed with intravenous antibiotics for brucellosis and physiotherapy for foot drop.