A fifteen year old girl comes into the emergency room with a pus-filled nodule t
ID: 127567 • Letter: A
Question
A fifteen year old girl comes into the emergency room with a pus-filled nodule that has formed along a thin scratch line. The girl says that she was playing with her new kitten when the animal got over-exuberant and scratched her arm. The scratch had been healing for the last 5 to 7 days, but then the pustule appeared and the girl developed a fever, headache, sore throat and red, itchy eyes. The doctor takes down her history and then prescribes oral tetracycline. A week later, the girl sees the doctor and tells her that the antibiotics were quite effective. What did the girl have and what was the causative agent?
Explanation / Answer
The symptoms observed in fifteen year old girl:
Pus-filled nodule that has formed along a thin scratch line.
Pustule appeared
Fever
Headache
Sore throat
Red and itchy eyes.
So the girl have Cat scratch disease (fever)
The causative agent is Bartonella henselae (bacterial infection).