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Bartonella neuroretinitis (cat-scratch disease)
  1. Siew Mei Yap1,
  2. Mamoun Saeed1,
  3. Patricia Logan2,
  4. Daniel G Healy1
  1. 1 Department of Neurology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
  2. 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
  1. Correspondence to Siew Mei Yap, Department of Neurology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Ireland; siewmeiy{at}gmail.com

Abstract

We report a patient with cat-scratch disease presenting with meningitis and neuroretinitis. This condition, caused by Bartonella henselae, has a worldwide distribution and is among the most common infective causes of neuroretinitis. Bartonella neuroretinitis is a rare but under-recognised mimic of optic neuritis; it should be suspected in a patient with an infective prodrome whose fundus shows optic disc oedema and a macular star. A low-positive initial serological test for Bartonella henselae does not exclude cat-scratch disease if there is high clinical suspicion, and repeat testing is recommended to look for titre rise.

  • Bartonella henselae
  • cat scratch disease
  • neuroretinitis
  • macular star

https://doi.org/10.1136/practneurol-2020-002586

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    Footnotes

    • SMY and MS contributed equally.

    • Contributors SMY and MS involved in the clinical care of the patient, literature search, and preparation and revision of the manuscript. PL and DGH involved in the clinical care of the patient and revision of the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

    • Data sharing statement The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned. Externally peer reviewed by Christian Lueck, Canberra, Australia.

    Linked Articles

    • Editorial
      Neuroretinitis: a tricky mimic
      Christian J Lueck
      Practical Neurology 2020; 20 430-432 Published Online First: 16 Jun 2020. doi: 10.1136/practneurol-2020-002629

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