Abstract
To clarify the clinical manifestations of cat scratch disease (CSD), we evaluated a total of 130 seropositive patients with CSD. The patients' ages ranged from 1 to 68 years; 103 (79.2%) were under 18 years of age. CSD occurred predominantly in the fall and winter months. Regional lymphadenopathy was noted in 110 (84.6%) of the cases, and the most common sites were the neck (33%), axillary (27%), and inguinal (18%) regions. One hundred of the patients (77%) had general symptoms, such as fever, headache, and malaise. The clinical manifestations of CSD showed a wide spectrum from typical or classical CSD, with regional lymphadenopathy, to atypical or systemic CSD. Of the 130 cases, 103 (79.2%) were typical CSD and 27 (20.8%) were atypical CSD. Atypical cases of CSD were commonly reported as fever of unknown origin (37.0%), neuroretinitis (22.2%), encehalopathy (14.8%), hepatosplenic granuloma (11.1%), and Parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome (7.4%). Fever of unknown origin or prolonged fever lasting more than 14 days was evident in 27 (20.8%) of the 130 cases in this study. Eleven of the 27 cases lacked lymphadenopathy. Our findings suggest that CSD is not a rare disease in Japan. The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test to detect Bartonella species may provide a prompt diagnosis of CSD and facilitate appropriate therapy.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: March 6, 2002 / Accepted: July 8, 2002
About this article
Cite this article
Murakami, K., Tsukahara, M., Tsuneoka, H. et al. Cat scratch disease: analysis of 130 seropositive cases. J Infect Chemother 8, 349–352 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-002-0194-6
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-002-0194-6