Case Report: Two Cases of Kikuchi Disease in West Texas With Non-Self-Limited Disease

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease, also known as histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, is characterized by high fever, lymph node swelling, and leukopenia. It is usually a benign self-limited disease. However, there are reports that it can be associated with other conditions, including infectious and noninfectious processes, autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or even life-threatening conditions like macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). Here, we report 2 cases of Kikuchi disease with non-self-limited disease in West Texas. The first case involves a 13-year-old Hispanic female who presented with prolonged fever for 8 weeks, cervical lymphadenopathy, and malaise. A year later, she was diagnosed with SLE. The second case is a 36-year-old Hispanic female who presented with prolonged fever and cervical, supraclavicular, axillary lymphadenopathy, and pancytopenia. She then developed MAS or hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.