A Rare Case of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease in a Young Female Patient

Patient: Female, 25-year-old Final Diagnosis: Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease Symptoms: Neck pain • palpable mass neck Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Pathology • Pulmonology • Radiology OBJECTIVE: Rare disease BACKGROUND: Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is a rare benign and usually local lymphadenopathy that typically occurs in young women. Patients with it usually have non-specific symptoms, such as fever in the afternoon, cervical lymph-adenitis, and weight loss. Posterior cervical lymphadenopathy is the most common manifestation of KFD. The symptoms often last for a few weeks and then resolve spontaneously. The cause of KFD is unknown; however, it is considered to be related to some infectious agents, as well as several autoimmune diseases. Because of the non-specific symptoms and the rarity of KFD, the cervical lymphadenopathy associated with it can be mis-diagnosed as coming from a more common condition. Making a correct diagnosis requires histology of the affected lymph nodes. CASE REPORT: Here, we describe the case of a 25-year-old Vietnamese woman who presented with mild fever in the afternoons and enlarged cervical lymph nodes with no local sign of inflammation. She was initially believed to have tubercular lymphadenitis because of her symptoms and the high prevalence of tuberculosis in Vietnam. However, she had no respiratory symptoms and tested negative on QuantiFERON-TB Gold. Pathology from the patient’s lymph node specimen showed an abnormal inflammatory reaction in the tissue. Her lesions were suspected to have been caused by KFD and she was treated successfully with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy. CONCLUSIONS: KFD is a benign disease that manifests with common symptoms. The diagnosis is based on biopsy of a specimen and pathology results. No treatment is required in patients who have no symptoms. Patients with symptoms usually respond well to a short course of NSAID therapy.