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Nosocomial Kikuchi's disease--a search for herpesvirus sequences in lymph node tissues using PCR
C Martinez-Vazquez1, C Potel, M Angulo
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Xeral de Vigo, Universidad de Santiago, Spain. carmenpotel@airtel.net
Background:
Histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, also known as Kikuchi's disease (KD), is a rare disease. Fever and lymphadenopathies with characteristic pathologic features are present. The etiology of this disease remains undetermined. Since the disorder is self-limiting, different viruses have been implicated as the causative agent.
Patients And Methods:
Seven cases of KD were studied. Three patients acquired the disease nosocomially, three had community-acquired KD and one case was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. PCR was performed on DNA extracted from lymph node tissues in order to detect herpesvirus-specific DNA sequences: herpes simpLex virus type 1 and 2 (HSV1-2), varicella zoster virus (VZV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8).
Results:
Viral DNA was not detected in any of the lymph node tissues from the seven cases of KD.
Conclusion:
We conclude that these herpesviruses were not involved in the etiology of the three cases of nosocomial KD, nor in the other four cases of KD investigated in this study.