Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Needle Biopsy in the Diagnosis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis:Ultrasound-guidedfine-needle aspiration cytology (US-FNAC) is a well-established procedureperformed to establish the diagnosis of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD). Ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy (US-CNB) is analternative diagnostic tool for KFD. However, the efficacy of US-CNB is not well evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the effi-cacy of US-CNB and compare it with that of US-FNAC in the diagnosis of KFD. Study Design:Retrospective cohort study. Methods:We analyzed 170 patients who were diagnosed with KFD between January 2009 and May 2019. US-FNAC,US-CNB, and excisional biopsy were performed in 47, 114, and 9 patients, respectively. Diagnostic accuracies of US-FNAC andUS-CNB were analyzed and compared. Results:Of the 170 patients, 45 and 125 were men and women, respectively. The mean age was 26.9 9.1 years. Themost common symptom was cervical lymphadenopathy, followed by fever, headache, and myalgia. The diagnosis of KFD wasestablished primarily by US-FNAC in 21 (44.7%) of the 47 patients, by US-CNB in 109 (95.6%) of the 114 patients, and by exci-sional biopsy in all 9 patients. There was no specific major complication related to US-FNAC and US-CNB. Conclusion:US-CNB can be considered safe and effective and used as the primary modality for the pathological diagnosis of KFD.