Case Report: Intracranial Lesions of Cat-scratch Disease Mimicking an Atypical Meningioma

Objectives: Cat-scratch disease (CSD) is an infectious disease caused by . The most typical symptom of patients with CSD is regional lymphadenopathy, while central nervous system lesions related to CSD are rare. Here, we present a case of an aged woman with CSD involving the dura mater with a manifestation similar to that of an atypical meningioma.

Methods: The patient was followed up by our neurosurgery and radiology teams. Clinical information was recorded, and the pre- and post-operation CT results and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes were collected. The paraffin-embedded tissue was sampled for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

Results: In this study, we present the details of a 54 year-old Chinese woman admitted to our hospital with a paroxysmal headache for 2 years that had worsened in the past 3 months. Brain CT and MRI showed a meningioma-like lesion below the occipital plate. En bloc resection of the sinus junction area was performed. A pathological examination showed granulation tissue and fibrosis with acute and chronic inflammation, granuloma, and central stellate microabscess, which was suspected as the cat-scratch disease. The paraffin-embedded tissue was sampled for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to amplify the corresponding pathogen gene sequence, which was .

Conclusion: The case in our study underscores the fact that the incubation period of CSD may be very long. On the contrary, CSD can involve the meninges, resulting in tumor-like lesions.