This document summarizes the histopathological features of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease (KFD). KFD is characterized by a necrotizing lymphadenitis without neutrophil infiltration, distinguishing it from other diseases that involve lymph nodes. The histopathology of KFD evolves through three stages - proliferative, necrotizing, and xanthomatous - though sequential biopsies are needed to confirm this progression. While the necrotizing form is most common, the stages may represent differences in disease progression or host response. Overall, the document outlines the distinctive pathological features of KFD.

1. Kikuchi-fujimoto disease:
histopathological and clinical review
of a case
http://www.medscidiscovery.com/Ar
ticlespdfs/V2N2PDF/April.2014Vol.2N
o.2p190-92.pdf

2. Kikuchi-Fugimoto Disease (Cervical
Subacute Necrotising
Lymphadenitis): An important
benign disease often
masquerading as lymphoma
http://www.ums.ac.uk/umj078/078(
2)134.pdf

3. The histopathological features of KFD are quite
distinctive : a necrotising lymphadenitis
without neutrophil infiltration,
virtually diagnostic of KFD, and the only mimic
is SLE lymphadenitis.
The lymph node changes in Kawasaki disease
(mucocutaneous lymph node disease), cat
scratch disease and atypical mycobacterial
infection are quite different, being
characterised by intravascular fibrin thrombi
and neutrophils, stellate microabscesses with
neutrophils and necrotising stellate
granulomatous inflammation respectively

4. Kikuchi Fujimoto Lymphadenitis:
Case Report and Literature Review
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10
.1002/ajh.10335/pdf

5. Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: a Rare
Differential of Lymphadenopathy
http://medind.nic.in/jac/t09/i3/jact0
9i3p145.pdf

6. Enigmatic Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease
http://ajcp.ascpjournals.org/content/
122/1/141.full.pdf

7. Kuo17 proposed classification of the histopathologic
features of KFD into 3 evolving histologic stages: proliferative,
necrotizing, and xanthomatous. The proliferative stage
consists basically of various histiocytes, plasmacytoid
monocytes,
and a variable number of lymphoid cells with karyorrhectic
nuclear fragments and eosinophilic apoptosis debris.
If cellular aggregates in a given lymph node showed any
degree of coagulative necrosis, the case was classified as
necrotizing. If foamy histiocytes predominated in the KFD
lesions, the case was classified as xanthomatous regardless
of the presence or absence of necrosis. The most common
type was the necrotizing type, accounting for slightly more
than half of the cases. As Kuo17 pointed out, the 3 histologic
types might represent different stages of the disease or might
reflect differences in cause or host reaction. Judging from
the histologic changes, KFD perhaps begins as proliferative,
progresses to necrotizing, and finally resolves into
xanthomatous. However, sequential biopsy specimens were
not available in the study by Kuo17 to verify this postulated
concept. Also, data on the duration of the disease did not
correlate with the progression of the 3 histologic types.