CASE REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pulmonary Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1611133
Acute Fibrinous and Organizing Pneumonia Induced by Cat Scratch Disease: A First Case Report
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Central Hospital of Wuhan, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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We describe the first documented case of acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) induced by cat-scratch disease (CSD). A 74-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital with progressive dyspnea and dry cough for more than 1 month that did not respond to conventional antibiotic therapy. Physical examination revealed cat bite scars on the left index finger. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral diffuse ground-glass opacities and consolidation.Percutaneous lung biopsy pathology confirmed the characteristic changes of AFOP, including fibrin ' ball ' formation in the alveolar cavity with organizing pneumonia. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was positive for Bartonella henselae; other pathogens and autoimmune diseases were excluded. Following treatment with doxycycline and corticosteroids, the patient exhibited clinical and radiographic improvement. This case reveals the pathogenic association between CSD and AFOP for the first time, expanding the infectious etiology spectrum of AFOP and revealing the potential association between rare infections and special types of interstitial pneumonia, providing a new perspective for differential clinical diagnoses.
Keywords: Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia, Cat scratch disease, etiology, Bartonella henselae, case report
Received: 13 Apr 2025; Accepted: 25 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Li, Geng, Ni and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jixiang Ni, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Central Hospital of Wuhan, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Hongling Hu, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Central Hospital of Wuhan, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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