Tuberculosis mimicking Kikuchi's disease

Abstract

Kikuchi's disease is an idiopathic self-limiting necrotizing lymphadenitis. Clinically, it mimics tuberculous cervical lymphadenopathy. The disease is diagnosed by histopathologic study. The only specific treatment that has been reported is empiric steroid therapy. We report a case of tuberculosis that was originally thought to be Kikuchi's disease in a 24-year-old man. When the patient's condition worsened during a course of steroid therapy, he underwent surgical exploration, which revealed the presence of tuberculous lymphadenitis. The patient was switched to antituberculosis drug therapy, and his improvement was dramatic.