Sweet's syndrome | |
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Sweet's syndrome lesions with the classical form of the dermatosis.
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Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | dermatology |
ICD-10 | L98.2 |
ICD-9-CM | 695.89 |
OMIM | 608068 |
DiseasesDB | 12727 |
MeSH | D016463 |
Sweet's syndrome lesions with the classical form of the dermatosis.
Sweet's syndrome (SS), or acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis is a skin disease characterized by the sudden onset of fever, an elevated white blood cell count, and tender, red, well-demarcated papules and plaques that show dense infiltrates by neutrophil granulocytes on histologic examination.
The syndrome was first described in 1964 by Robert Douglas Sweet. It was also known as Gomm-Button disease in honour of the first two patients Sweet diagnosed with the condition.
Sweet described a disease with four features: fever; leukocytosis; acute, tender, red plaques; and a dermal infiltrate of neutrophils. This led to the name acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. Larger series of patients showed that fever and neutrophilia are not consistently present. The diagnosis is based on the two constant features, a typical eruption and the characteristic histologic features; thus the eponym "Sweet's syndrome" is used.
Acute, tender, erythematous plaques, nodes, pseudovesicles and, occasionally, blisters with an annular or arciform pattern occur on the head, neck, legs, and arms, particularly the back of the hands and fingers. The trunk is rarely involved. Fever (50%); arthralgia or arthritis (62%); eye involvement, most frequently conjunctivitis or iridocyclitis (38%); and oral aphthae (13%) are associated features.
SS can be classified based upon the clinical setting in which it occurs: classical or idiopathic SS, malignancy-associated SS, and drug-induced SS.
SS is a reactive phenomenon and should be considered a cutaneous marker of systemic disease. Careful systemic evaluation is indicated, especially when cutaneous lesions are severe or hematologic values are abnormal. Approximately 20% of cases are associated with malignancy, predominantly hematological, especially acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). An underlying condition (, inflammatory bowel disease, nonlymphocytic leukemia and other hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, pregnancy) is found in up to 50% of cases. Attacks of SS may precede the hematologic diagnosis by 3 months to 6 years, so that close evaluation of patients in the “idiopathic” group is required.