The Enigmatic Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: A Case Report and Review

Abstract

We report this case of a 33-year-old African American woman who presented to the clinic with preauricular and submandibular masses that she had noticed 6 weeks earlier. She gave a remote history of noticing bilateral cervical masses 3 years prior to this presentation that had not been investigated at the time and resolved spontaneously. Excisional biopsies of the cervical lymph nodes showed morphologic and immunophenotypic findings suggestive of Kikuchi Fujimoto disease (KFD). KFD is an uncommon, self-limited, and perhaps an underdiagnosed entity with an excellent prognosis. It mimics malignant lymphoma in presentation and therefore an accurate clinicopathological differentiation is crucial.

Una relación potencialmente peligrosa: lupus eritematoso sistémico y enfermedad de Kikuchi – Fujimoto

“…En la búsqueda bibliográfica encontramos varios artículos donde se describen casos de enfermedad de Kikuchi-Fujimoto, en diversas poblaciones a nivel mundial, lo cual indica que aunque es una enfermedad infrecuente, debe sospecharse siempre en pacientes con cuadro febril de origen indeterminado y adenopatías de predominio cervical (13)(14)(15).…”

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease: a rare but important differential diagnosis for lymphadenopathy

“…Fever is a primary symptom in 30–50% of patients 3 4. Cervical lymph nodes are involved in approximately 80% of cases, predominantly affecting the posterior triangle and are often unilateral 2 4.…”

“…Cervical lymph nodes are involved in approximately 80% of cases, predominantly affecting the posterior triangle and are often unilateral 2 4. Although lymphadenopathy is often localised to cervical or supraclavicular nodes, it can also be generalised with involvement of axillary, inguinal, mediastinal and mesenteric nodes 1 5.…”

“…Corticosteroids are used in cases that are severe or unresponsive to simple analgaesia 2 3. The use of hydroxychloroquine, immunoglobulins and minocycline has also demonstrated favourable results in some cases 4. Patients are generally followed up for a few years even after resolution of symptoms, as recurrences (3–4%) have been reported and there has been an association with KFD and the development of SLE 5 7…”

“…Although CT findings in KFD and lymphoma are both similar, lymph nodes identified in patients with KFD are generally not as large as those identified in lymphoma 3 4…”