[Cat scratch disease--course, diagnosis]. / Choroba kociego pazura--przebieg kliniczny, rozpoznanie.

ABSTRACT

Cat scratch disease is an infection which often causes regional lymphadenopathy. Bartenolloses present a growing health problem both in human and veterinary medicine. They may be etiological fevers of unknown etiology, endocarditis, pneumonia, meningitis. The mildest clinical form is the cat scratch disease which proceeds as a mild regional lymphadenopathy. It is caused by Bartonellosis henselae. Animals, especially cats, are the sourse of infections. Lymphadenitis may remain for many weeks and requires differentiation from other causes of regional lymphadenopathy. Three typical cases of the disease are presented. All sick persons had contact with cats. In none case a primary change was observed. In the case no 1 the possibility of occurrence of the disease was not considered and it was diagnosed only after histopathological examination of lymphnodes. In the two other cases diagnoses were established on the basis of serological examination after a few days of admittance for hospital treatment. Cat scratch disease is rarely diagnosed in Poland probably due to insufficient knowledge of the clinical form of this disease. Swollen lymph nodes together with patient contact with a cat or other animals established during a detailed interviewing, raise suspicion of CSD. Denial by a patient of the primary change does not rule out diagnosis. When regional lymphadenopathy of cat scratch disease is taken into consideration in differential diagnosis and serological tests are carried out, it may be possible in many cases to eliminate any further diagnostics burdening a sick person.