To investigate the clinical characteristic of brucellosis, and to provide reference for diagnosis and treatment of brucellosis.

The clinical data of 312 patients with brucellosis hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University during October 2008 to March 2016 were collected, the clinical characteristics and outcomes including the general condition, epidemiology, clinical manifestation and laboratory examination were analyzed, retrospectively.

Total of 312 cases of brucellosis were enrolled, the acute phase cases and chronic phase cases were 78.8% (246 cases) and 21.2% (66 cases), respectively and 284 cases (92.0%) of them had an epidemic history. There were 253 patients who (81.1%) showed a typical clinical symptoms including fever, low back pain, joint pain, sweating and fatigue and the rest 59 cases (18.9%) had atypical symtoms involving gastrointestinal system, respiratory system, neurological system, motor system and even beginning with facial swelling or weight loss. There were 231 cases (93.9%) in the acute phase going to hospital when infected with brucellosis for less than a month, however, 96 cases (39%) were not diagnosed timely in a month. The chronic phase cases mainly resulted in delayed diagnosis and non-standard treatment. The levels of C-reactive protein and the rates of erythrocyte sedimentation after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment, with significant differences (χ² = 79.370, P < 0.001; χ² = 45.784, P < 0.001).

The clinical manifestations of brucellosis were diverse, typical cases accounts for the majority, but the proportion of delayed diagnosis cases was still high, clinicians should strengthen the awareness and vigilance of the disease, timely diagnosis and standard treatment could reduce complications and chronic cases.