Kikuchi's disease: case report and systematic review of cutaneous and histopathologic presentations

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 Jul;59(1):130-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2008.03.012. Epub 2008 May 7.

Abstract

Kikuchi's disease, also known as histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, is a systemic illness with classic clinical findings of cervical lymphadenopathy and fever. Diagnosis is confirmed by lymph node histology, which reveals paracortical foci of necrosis and a histiocytic infiltrate. Kikuchi's disease has been associated with a number of infections, but no single source has been identified. Diverse, often nonspecific, cutaneous findings have been described in up to 40% of cases. Description of the histopathologic findings of skin lesions is limited to single case reports and one case series. We describe a 24-year-old woman with fevers, lymphadenopathy, hepatic and hematologic abnormalities, and a skin eruption involving the face, neck, trunk, and extremities with characteristic lymph node and cutaneous histopathologic findings. We completed a systematic review of the clinical presentations and histopathology of Kikuchi's disease.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Axilla
  • Biopsy
  • Female
  • Histiocytic Necrotizing Lymphadenitis / diagnosis*
  • Histiocytic Necrotizing Lymphadenitis / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Lymph Nodes / pathology
  • Skin / pathology