Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease Triggered by Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection: A Case Report.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70672/v1wvf984Keywords:
Azithromycin, Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease, Mycoplasma pneumoniae.Abstract
Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is a rare inflammatory disorder which typically presents with cervical lymphadenopathy and pyrexia. It is frequently misdiagnosed as other more common medical conditions which share similar clinical manifestations. The diagnosis of KFD is often established only after a lymph node biopsy and histopathology evaluation that demonstrates the characteristic features of histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis. While the aetiology of KFD remains poorly-understood, certain microbial agents have been implicated as triggering factors. Here, we highlight a case of a young Asian woman who developed prolonged fever and cervical lymphadenopathy. She was initially being investigated for possible lymphoma, but was subsequently found to have KFD, alongside a Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. She recovered well following the treatment with azithromycin.
References
[1]. Kikuchi M. Lymphadenitis showing focal reticulum cell hyperplasia with nuclear debris and phagocytosis. Nippon Ketsueki Gakkai Zasshi. 1972;35:379-80.
[2]. Fujimoto Y, Kojima Y, Yamaguchi K. Cervical subacute necrotizing lymphadenitis: a new clinicopathological entity. Naika. 1972;20:920-7.
[3]. Deaver D, Naghashpour M, Sokol L. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease in the United States: Three Case Reports and Review of the Literature. Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2014;6(1):e2014001. doi:10.4084/MJHID.2014.001.
[4]. Achappa B, Herath NC, Sebastian B, Dsouza NV, Raghuram PM, Holla R, et al. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Coastal South India: A 8-year retrospective study. F1000Res. 2022;11:492. doi:10.12688/f1000research.109832.1.
[5]. Deb A, Fernandez V, Kilinc E, Bahmad HF, Camps NS, Sriganeshan V, et al. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: A Case Series and Review of the Literature. Diseases. 2024;12(11):271. doi:10.3390/diseases12110271.
[6]. Mahajan VK, Sharma V, Sharma N, Rani R. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease: A comprehensive review. World J Clin Cases. 2023;11(16):3664-79. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v11.i16.3664.
[7]. Norris AH, Krasinskas AM, Salhany KE, Gluckman SJ. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease: a benign cause of fever and lymphadenopathy. Am J Med. 1996;101(4):401-5. doi:10.1016/S0002-9343(96)00231-8.
[8]. Shah S, Vijendren A, Obichere M. Kikuchi--Fujimoto disease: a rare presentation of a groin lump. BMJ Case Rep. 2013;2013:bcr2012006841. doi:10.1136/bcr-2012-006841.
[9]. Mannu GS, Ahmed F, Cunnick G, Sheppard K. A rare cause of axillary lymphadenopathy: Kikuchi's disease. BMJ Case Rep. 2014;2014:bcr2013203100. doi:10.1136/bcr-2013-203100.
[10]. Inamo Y. The Difficulty of Diagnosing Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease in Infants and Children Under Six Years Old: Case Report and Literature Review. Cureus. 2020;12(3):e7383. doi:10.7759/cureus.7383.
[11]. Nizamuddin, Ubaid A, Waheed F. Arthritis as a Presenting Feature of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: Time to Think Out of the Box in Patients with Arthritis. Hamdan Medical Journal. 2020;13(1):55-6. doi:10.4103/HMJ.HMJ_53_19.
[12]. Iwamoto N, Funahashi M, Shinohara K, Nakaya Y, Motobayashi H, Tochitani K, et al. Two Cases of Kikuchi Disease Presenting with Aseptic Meningitis and Encephalitis. Intern Med. 2022;61(17):2687-9. doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.7724-21.
[13]. Perry AM, Choi SM. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: A Review. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2018;142(11):1341-6. doi:10.5858/arpa.2018-0219-RA.
[14]. Park SG, Koo HR, Jang K, Myung JK, Song CM, Ji YB, et al. Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Needle Biopsy in the Diagnosis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease. Laryngoscope. 2021;131(5):E1519-E1523. doi:10.1002/lary.29160.
[15]. AlShieban S, Masuadi E, Alghamdi R, Alshalfan A, Alessa S, Alqarni AK, et al. Pathological Features and Clinical Characteristics of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: A Tertiary Hospital Experience in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Cureus. 2023;15(1):e33683. doi:10.7759/cureus.33683.
[16]. Li EY, Xu J, Nelson ND, Teachey DT, Tan K, Romberg N, et al. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is mediated by an aberrant type I interferon response. Mod Pathol. 2022;35(4):462-9. doi:10.1038/s41379-021-00992-7.
[17]. Kucukardali Y, Solmazgul E, Kunter E, Oncul O, Yildirim S, Kaplan M. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: analysis of 244 cases. Clin Rheumatol. 2007;26(1):50-4. doi:10.1007/s10067-006-0230-5.
[18]. Yu RB, Chen YJ, Chang CH, Chen YL, Chen JW. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease Associated With Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection. Ear Nose Throat J. 2024;103(4):NP223-NP225. doi:10.1177/01455613211044225.
[19]. Kim SH, Lee JM, Gu MJ, Ahn JY. A case of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease Associated with Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection. Clin Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2019;26(2):83-6. doi:10.15264/cpho.2019.26.2.83.
[20]. Müller CSL, Vogt T, Becker SL. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease Triggered by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection-A Report of a Case and a Review of the Literature. Am J Dermatopathol. 2021;43(3):202-8. doi:10.1097/DAD.0000000000001764.
[21]. Nelson ND, Meng W, Rosenfeld AM, Bullman S, Sekhar Pedamallu C, Nomburg JL, et al. Characterization of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells, Microbial Sequences, and Identification of a Candidate Public T-Cell Clone in Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease. Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2021;24(3):193-205. doi:10.1177/1093526620987961.
[22]. Baenas DF, Diehl FA, Haye Salinas MJ, Riva V, Diller A, Lemos PA. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. Int Med Case Rep J. 2016;9:163-7. doi:10.2147/IMCRJ.S106396.
[23]. Cadório MJ, Oliveira J, Gama J, Duarte C. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease and primary Sjögren's syndrome coexisting: A case-based literature review. Mod Rheumatol Case Rep. 2025;9(1):110-6. doi:10.1093/mrcr/rxae058.
[24]. Papo M, Cappy P, Degachi A, Woerther PL, Saal C, Charlotte F, et al. Lymphadenopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus: no microbial trigger found by shotgun metagenomics in a retrospective study on 38 patients. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2024;keae578. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keae578.
[25]. Noursadeghi M, Aqel N, Gibson P, Pasvol G. Successful treatment of severe Kikuchi's disease with intravenous immunoglobulin. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2006;45(2):235-7. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kei074.
[26]. Hyun M, So IT, Kim HA, Jung H, Ryu SY. Recurrent Kikuchi's Disease Treated by Hydroxychloroquine. Infect Chemother. 2016;48(2):127-31. doi:10.3947/ic.2016.48.2.127.
[27]. Honda F, Tsuboi H, Toko H, Ohyama A, Takahashi H, Abe S, et al. Recurrent Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease Successfully Treated by the Concomitant Use of Hydroxychloroquine and Corticosteroids. Intern Med. 2017;56(24):3373-7. doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.9205-17.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Asian Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) is an open-access journal that follows the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)



