Fine needle aspiration cytology of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is an acute onset febrile illness of unknown etiology, predominantly affecting young women with predilection for cervical lymphadenopathy.

The study included 13 cases of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease with both fine needle aspiration cytology and excisional biopsy of lymph node available and data & slides were retrieved from the department of Pathology, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and Om Hospital & Research Centre Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal from August 2009 to July 2013.

The mean age of the patients was 27.6 years with a range of 17 to 38 years. Twelve of 13 patients had cervical lymphadenopathy. Cytomorphological features included cellularity, karyorrhectic debris, crescentichistiocytes, necrosis and cellular polymorphism. Histologically, Lymph nodes showed partially effaced architecture by paracortical pale foci with karyorrhectic debris. These foci were composed of phagocytic & non-phagocytic histiocytes, plasmacytoid monocytes, immunoblasts and lymphocytes.

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease, in most cases, can be diagnosed cytologically on the basis of identification of karyorrhectic debris and crescentic macrophages with reactive background.