Kikuchi Disease: A Case Report

Kikuchi disease, also known as Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease, is a rare, benign cause of cervical lymphadenitis. It is characterized by painful cervical lymphadenopathy with fevers, leukopenia, and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. It is diagnosed by obtaining a biopsy specimen from a lymph node that shows characteristic histopathologic findings.

We highlight a 42-year-old Japanese man who presented with persistent fevers and cervical lymphadenopathy who was misdiagnosed at multiple urgent care facilities and emergency departments. He was eventually diagnosed with Kikuchi disease after a biopsy specimen was obtained from a lymph node 1 month after his symptoms began. He was treated with hydroxychloroquine and prednisone with resolution of his symptoms. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although Kikuchi disease has been previously described in various specialty medical journals, the published literature on Kikuchi disease in emergency medicine is relatively scarce. Given that cervical lymphadenopathy is a common presentation to emergency departments, it is important for emergency physicians to be cognizant of Kikuchi disease in the differential diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy to prevent misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments.