HISTIOCYTIC NECROTIZING LYMPHADENITIS (KI KUCHI-FUJIMOTO DISEASE) - REPORT OF 2 CASES

The necrotizing lymphadenitis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto is an uncommon disea se in Spain. In a review of the literature we found only five cases re ported until 1995. We report here two patients with the diagnosis of t his entity in an area hospital during a one-year period. This fact con trasts with the low frequency of this disease reported so far in our c ountry. The cases were two young women who were investigated because o f cervical lymph node enlargement and headache. The lymph node biopsy revealed typical findings of the necrotic phase of the Kikuchi-Fujimot o disease in one case; the histology in the other case was characteris tic of the so called proliferative phase. The two patients evolved spo ntaneously with a favorable outcome. Lymph node enlargements resolved in less than three months. All microbiological investigations performe d were negative. One of the two patients was receiving intranasal calc itonin when symptoms developed. The incidence of Kikuchi-Fujimoto dise ase might be higher than considered. The spontaneous resolution of the disease and the requirement of the histological examination for its d iagnosis are factors limiting its identification.