Acute brucellosis as unusual cause of immune thrombocytopenia: a case report and review of the literature

A 25 year-old male patient was admitted to the causality with complaints of fever, joints pain, epistaxis and gingival bleeding, for the last week, the complete blood count revealed pancytopenia. Serological test for brucella was reported positive as 1/320, but the patient failed to respond to brucella treatment for 4 d. On day 5th the diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenia was confirmed after bone marrow aspiration. Steroid was initiated on 6th day after admission and on the 3rd day of steroid therapy thrombocytes count was raised to 55×10⁹/L and came up to 180×10⁹/L on 12th day after admission. Brucella-induced immune thrombocytopenia should be considered in patient presenting with bleeding and febrile illness especially in endemic region.