ABSTRACT

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD), also called histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, is a self-limiting disease, which commonly affects young adults, especially women. Its incidence is rare in Turkey and is mostly found in Far Eastern Asian countries. The etiology of KFD is unknown. The disease presents with fever, chills, muscle and joint pains, cervical lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, leucopenia and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. It has occasionally been misdiagnosed as malignant lymphoma. The diagnosis of the disease is confirmed by histopathological examination of the affected lymph node. Herein, we report a patient who presented with fever of unknown origin and was diagnosed as having KFD. We suggest that KFD should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses in patients presenting with fever of unknown origin and lymphadenopathy, and it should be kept in mind that the disease can relapse during follow-up.