title: A prospective study of Cat-Scratch Disease in Lima-Peru.
abstract: Cat-Scratch Disease (CSD) is a benign lymphadenitis that may progress to severe or recurrent forms, and it is occasionally associated with morbidity. Between January of 1998 and March of 1999, forty-three suspected CSD patients were assessed in the Hospital Cayetano Heredia and the Instituto de Salud del Niño, in Lima, Peru. Twelve patients had a confirmed diagnosis, 8 of whom were women, and the mean age was 10 years old. The majority (53%) of the cases were encountered in the summer. All patients reported having had contact with cats. Fever, malaise, lymphadenopathy and skin lesions were the most frequent clinical features. Twelve patients had indirect immunofluorescence antibody test titers of between 1/50 and 1/800 for Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae. Two lymph node biopsies were histologically compatible with CSD. No positive blood cultures could be obtained. This is the first Peruvian prospective study able to identify B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae in pediatric patients.
authors.affiliation: Alberto Hurtado School of Medicine, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru.
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huarcaya
authors.forename: Ciro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maguiña
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merello
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cok
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Birtles
authors.forename: Berónica
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Infante
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: Afilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tello
authors.forename: Palmira
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ventosilla
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001473:Bartonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010568:Peru; D011446:Prospective Studies