OBJECTIVE: To report a case of a 12-year-old boy with Necrotizing Lymphadenitis (Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease) presenting as lymphadenitis secondary to multiple diagnosis.

 

METHODS:

Design : Case Report

Setting: Tertiary Private Hospital

Patient: One

 

RESULTS: A 12-year-old boy consulted for two-month history of cervical lymphadenopathy with the underlying cause remaining unclear despite multiple consults, diagnosis and medical treatment. Lymphoma was considered and excision biopsy with further investigations confirmed a diagnosis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. Supportive management was given with no recurrence of symptoms noted on 18 months of follow up. 

 

CONCLUSION:  Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease in this case was a diagnosis of exclusion. Even with a proper history and physical examination, experts in otolaryngology can be misled to manage this case as malignant. Awareness of the disease and appropriate examinations including immunohistochemistry are important for a timely diagnosis and proper intervention.

 

KEYWORDS: lympadenitis; Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease; lymphoma; cervical lymph nodes

Human ; Male ; Child Preschool (a Child Between The Ages Of 2 And 5) ; Histiocytic Necrotizing Lymphadenitis ; Lymphoma