INTRODUCTION: Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is a  rare self-limited disorder manifested by painful cervical lymphadenopathies commonly associated with fever and night sweats.This is a series of three female patients presenting with fever and lymphadenopathies diagnosed with KFD.
CASE: The first case is a 34-year-old female admitted due to fever of 10 days associated with lymphadenopathies and joint pains.Excision biopsy done showed necrotizing histiocytic lymphadenitis consistent with KFD.Other laboratories showed hypocomplementemia, positive ANA and anti-dsDNA.Patient was discharged improved with low dose oral corticosteroid and hydroxychloroquine.The second case is a 53-year-old female with fever,lymphadenopathies,polyarthritis and morning stiffness.Biopsy of the cervical lymph node was done showing KFD and lupus serologies (ANA 1:640 speckled, anti-dsDNA and anti-Smith) revealed positive results as well.Patient was then diagnosed with SLE and was started on low dose oral corticosteroid and hydroxychloroquine which resulted to resolution of fever and gradual resolution of lymph nodes on out-patient follow up.The last case is a 45-year-old female admitted due to persistent fever, painful lymphadenopathies and headache. Serological work-up including autoantibody tests for SLE were all unremarkable but showed associated iron deficiency anemia. Biopsy of the cervical lymph node showed Kikuchi's disease. Patient was discharged with oral methylprednisolone.
CONCLUSION: The rarity of KFD makes defining an autoimmune etiology a challenge to clinicians.Careful disease course follow up is then recommended for patients who initially lack parameters for SLE diagnosis.