KIKUCHI DISEASE

Course overview

KIKUCHI-FUJIMOTO DISEASE IS A RARE BENIGN SELF-LIMITING INFLAMMATORY LYMPHADENITIS THAT DEVELOPS IN YOUNG PATIENTS, INITIALLY DESCRIBED IN ASIAN POPULATIONS IN THE 1970S. DIAGNOSIS IS BASED ON EXCISIONAL LYMPH NODE BIOPSY, AND HAS A UNIQUE HISTOLOGICAL APPEARANCE. KIKUCHI DISEASE MUST BE DIFFERENTIATED FROM INFECTIOUS, AUTOIMMUNE, AND MALIGNANT CAUSES OF LYMPHADENOPATHY. MANAGEMENT OF THE DISEASE IS TYPICALLY SUPPORTIVE, WITH CORTICOSTEROIDS AND IMMUNOSUPPRESSION RESERVED FOR SEVERE CASES. KIKUCHI DISEASE IS RARELY ASSOCIATED WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE), AND PATIENTS MUST BE MONITORED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SLE AFTER A DIAGNOSIS OF KIKUCHI. GIVEN THE RARITY OF THE CONDITION, KIKUCHI DISEASE IS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED, WHICH LEADS TO INAPPROPRIATE ANTIBIOTIC USE AND INCORRECT MANAGEMENT. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE ETIOLOGY, EVALUATION, AND TREATMENT OF KIKUCHI DISEASE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.