[Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease: a rare cause of adenopathy mimicking lymphoma or tuberculosis]. / La maladie de Kikuchi-Fujimoto : une cause rare d'adénopathies mimant un lymphome ou une tuberculose.

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease or histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis is a rare and unfamiliar clinicopathological entity characterized by cervical lymphadenopathy, often associated with systemic signs such fever and night sweats. We report the first three Malagasy cases of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease, diagnosed at the Pathology Lab of Joseph Ravoahangy Andrianavalona Hospital, occurring in three female patients of 11, 19 and 35 years old. The clinical course mimicked lymphoma in one case and tuberculosis in two cases. In all cases, lymph node biopsy allowed the diagnosis and showed necrotizing lymphadenitis with acidophil necrosis, histiocyte infiltrate, presence of plasmacytoid monocytes and multiple apoptotic cells. The three patients received a low-dose corticosteroid treatment. Clinical remission was achieved within a few weeks. This disorder must be included in the differential diagnosis of "lymph node enlargement" because its course and treatment differ dramatically from those of lymphoma and tuberculosis.