Obturatory abscess and pelvic pain caused by Brucella melitensis

Brucellosis which is a systemic infection, is seen endemically in Turkey. Although there a lot of complications related to brucellosis, soft tissue involvement is rare. In this case report a patient with mature cystic teratoma and a Brucella related obturatory abscess, was presented. A 21-year-old female patient with bilateral pelvic pain was admitted to the hospital with complaints of weakness, backache and ab- dominal swelling. Pelvic examination revealed bilateral adnexial sensitive masses. There were no history of systemic complaints or other organ involvement. The patient had no history of contact with infected animals, intramuscular injections or consumption of non-pasteurized foods. A mass of 56 x 63 mm with regular margins and hyperechogenic segments at the left side was detected at ultrasonographic examination. Left ovarian cystectomy and mass excision at the left side were performed during laparotomy. Histopathological examination of the mass revealed chronic granulomatous inflammation characterized by central necrosis, histiocyte and lymphocyte infiltration and formation of giant cells, compatible with brucellosis. Brucella melitensis was isolated from the capsule of pelvic mass on the fifth day of culture in BacT/ALERT Selectlink (Organon Teknika, U.S.A.) system. Brucella Wright agglutination titer which was 1:80 at the admittance, rose to 1:2560 at the sixth week of the follow-up. The patient was treated successfully with the excision of the abscess and 6 weeks course of oral doxycycline and rifampicin. Brucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pelvic pain and obturatory abscess, especially in endemic areas for brucellosis.