Acute pancreatitis and low ascites-serum albumin gradient ascites caused by Brucellosis

Objective: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease seen widely around the world. Although many aspects and treatment of this disease is well known, peritoneal involvement and ascites is not well established so far. Material and Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 346 adult patients (aged >17 years) with acute Brucellosis attending Hepatology Clinic, Van Yuzuncu Yil University, between April 2013 and May 2016. Characteristics of those with and without ascites were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and Chi-Square test in SPSS software system. Results: Of the 346 cases, 20 (5, 7%) had ascites. Those with ascites had significantly higher transaminase, cholestatic enzyme and amylase levels compared to those without ascites. Conclusions: We conclude that acute Brucella infection can lead to a unique low gradient ascites probably resulting from pancreatic leakage followed by peritoneal accumulation of serum proteins.