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.