Clinical Manifestations of Bartonella henselae Infection Among Children

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze clinicalmanifestations, epidemiology and laboratory parameters of B. henselae infection among children treated at the UniversityHospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljević”, Zagreb from January2014 until June 2019. Materials and methods: Weretrospectively analyzed the epidemiology, clinical and laboratorycharacteristics among children with positive indirect immunofluorescence assayfor B. henselae IgM and IgG orpositive B. henselae polymerase chainreaction from lymph node aspirate. Results: A total of 104 patients, 47(45,1%) female and 57 (54,8%) male were enrolled. The median age was 9,7(range, 1,1 to 17,3 years). A history of cat contact was present in 101 (97,1%)children. Acute infection was serologically confirmed in 87 (83,6%), in 5(4,8%) with PCR while both methods were positive in 12 (11,5%) patients. Thepresentation on B. henselae infectionwere regional lymphadenopathy ,disseminated disease, encephalopathy and fever of unknown origin. Suppurativeinflammation was the most common complication in patients with lymphadenopathy 12/92(13%). Full recovery was the mostfrequent outcome (96,1%). Conclusion lesion : B.henselae infection amongchildren is usually a mild disease presented as regional lymphadenopathy.Serology and polymerase chain reaction are useful tests for diagnosis.Treatment duration and choice of therapy depend on clinical manifestation anddeveloped complications.