Evaluation of Cat Scratch Disease Cases Reported from Turkey between 1996 and 2013 and Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND

Cat scratch disease (CSD), the most common cause of chronic lymphadenopathy among children and adolescents, typically features regional lymphadenitis associated with inoculation site due to a cat scratch or bite.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to systematically review the articles related to CSD which were reported from Turkey in national and international journals in the last 18 years with a pooled-analysis method.

METHODS

The articles related to CSD were retrieved by search of four national (Ulakbim Turkish Medical Literature Databases) and three international databases (Pub-Med, Science Citation Index (SCI) and Google scholar).

RESULTS

Between the years 1996-2013, CSD cases have been published in a total of 16 articles (4 international, 12 national). These articles which were presented as a case report included a total of 18 CSD cases (38.8% women, 61.2% men; median age 16 years). The most common clinicopathologic subtypes of CSD are regional lymphadenitis (n=9), hepatosplenic (n=3) and neuroretinitis (n=2). The most common complaints of patients were swelling (94.4%), fever (61.2%) and weakness (50%) at admission. On exam, the most common signs were lymphadenopathy (94.4%), fever (61.2%), splenomegaly (16.6%), and skin eruption (16.6%).

CONCLUSION

This pooled analysis which enabled the evaluation of a large number of CSD cases, indicated that careful evaluation of clinical findings and histopathological investigation will provide valuable support for diagnosis and treatment of CSD.