Atypical Bartonella henselae neuroretinitis in an immunocompetent patient.

Abstract

We report a case of a 57-year-old immunocompetent male, admitted to our Department due to the loss of visual acuity to the right eye, occurred during the two weeks before the hospitalization, and hyperglycaemia. Our patient suffered from metabolic syndrome, characterized by visceral obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, arterial hypertension, complicated by proteinuria, and moderate grade hypertensive retinopathy. Surprisingly, and despite its many comorbidities, the final diagnosis was neuroretinitis by Bartonella henselae, without any other symptoms/signs of cat-scratch disease. The patient denied any kind of contact with cats. He was cured by specific antibiotic therapy, restoring status ‘quo ante’.