Abstract

Cat scratch disease is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Bartonella henselae. It is usually observed in children and young adults who have a history of contact with cats. It is an important cause of infectious lymphadenopathies and the most common involvement sites are axillary, cervical and inguinal lymph nodes. In this report, we present two male adult cases who complained of axillary and inguinal lymphadenopathy, respectively. Both have a history of contact with cats. The excisional biopsies of the lymphadenopathies were performed. The histopathological examination revealed the granulomatous lymphadenitis, which is consistent with cat scratch disease. Investigation of the patients’ serum samples for the presence of specific B. henselae antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence assay revealed B. henselae IgM type antibodies at a titer of 1/40 and 1/320, respectively. The patients were successfully treated with azithromycin. Since, cat scratch disease is a rare infection of adults, it should be taken into consideration in the patients suffering from regional lymphadenopathy with history of direct contact with cats.