Brucellosis is a chronic granulomatous
infection and may present with various clinical manifestations. Brucellar
spondylodiscitis symptoms are initially subtle and nonspecific.
Annexin A2 (ANXA2) is involved in various
biological functions, including osteoclast formation,
bone resorption, and cell growth regulation. In this study, we aimed to determine the clinical significance of serum ANXA2 levels in acute
brucellosis and brucellar
spondylodiscitis. This prospective study included 96 acute
brucellosis patients and 51 healthy controls. Acute
brucellosis was diagnosed by a 1/160 or higher titer in a standard tube agglutination (STA) test or a four-fold increase in titers between two STA tests performed two weeks apart in the presence of clinical symptoms within the last eight weeks and/or growth of Brucella spp. in appropriately prepared
culture media. ANXA2 levels were determined with an
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Forty (41.7 %) of 96 acute
brucellosis patients were male and 56 (58.3 %) were female. Serum ANXA2 levels were elevated in patients compared to healthy controls (p = 0.001). Eighteen of 96 (18.7 %) acute
brucellosis patients had brucellar
spondylodiscitis. The serum ANXA2 levels of patients with brucellar
spondylodiscitis were higher than those of patients with
acute disease without brucellar
spondylodiscitis (p = 0.001). ANXA2,
C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) values were elevated in the brucellar
spondylodiscitis group compared to patients without brucellar
spondylodiscitis. Serum ANXA2 measurement together with ESR and CRP is thought to be indicative in the diagnosis of brucellar
spondylodiscitis, a common complication of
brucellosis.