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Spontaneous onset of complex regional pain syndrome Type I in a woman infected with Bartonella koehlerae

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Abstract

After a short-term fever, complex regional pain syndrome, characterized by hyperalgesia, intermittent swelling, erythema and cyanosis of both feet, was diagnosed in a female veterinarian. The woman was infected with Bartonella koehlerae and she was also Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii seroreactive. Having failed other treatments, symptoms resolved following initiation of antibiotics.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Sarah Hopkins, Department of Neurology, Nemours/AI DuPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA, for helpful discussions of this manuscript, Barbara Hegarty and Julie Bradley for Bartonella serological testing and Tonya Lee for editorial assistance. The authors also thank E. William St Clair and Emily Cadogan, Duke University Medical Center, for providing retrospective Western blot testing for Borrrelia burgdorferi antibodies. This research was supported in part by an unrestricted donation from Bayer Animal Health.

Conflict of interest

In conjunction with Dr. Sushama Sontakke and North Carolina State University, Dr. Breitschwerdt holds US Patent No. 7,115,385; Media and Methods for cultivation of microorganisms, which was issued October 3, 2006. He is the chief scientific officer for Galaxy Diagnostics, a company that provides diagnostic testing for the detection of Bartonella species infection in animals and human patients. Dr. Ricardo Maggi has lead research efforts to optimize the BAPGM platform and is the Scientific Technical Advisor for Galaxy Diagnostics. All other authors have no potential conflicts.

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Author notes

  1. Cristina Pérez Vera

    Present address: Small Animal Clinic, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3027, Bern, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Cristina Pérez Vera, Ricardo G. Maggi, Patricia E. Mascarelli & Edward B. Breitschwerdt

  2. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Christopher W. Woods

Authors
  1. Cristina Pérez Vera
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  2. Ricardo G. Maggi
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  3. Christopher W. Woods
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  4. Patricia E. Mascarelli
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  5. Edward B. Breitschwerdt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Edward B. Breitschwerdt.

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Vera, C.P., Maggi, R.G., Woods, C.W. et al. Spontaneous onset of complex regional pain syndrome Type I in a woman infected with Bartonella koehlerae . Med Microbiol Immunol 203, 101–107 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-013-0320-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-013-0320-3

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