We report a 38-year-old male patient who presented with cutaneous lesions mimicking widespread discoid lupus erythematosus with high-grade fever, arthralgia and lymphadenopathy. Additional lymph node and skin biopsies, however, revealed karyorrhectic debris without neutrophils and numerous CD68-positive cells, a characteristic finding of Kikuchi's disease (KD). Comparing skin biopsies on different occasions, we could see different forms of histopathology. The histopathology of skin lesions of KD may vary during the clinical course, which may reflect the stage of the disease.
Keywords: CD68; Kikuchi's disease; apoptotic keratinocytes; nuclear debris; systemic lupus erythematosus.
© 2014 Japanese Dermatological Association.