Sweet's syndrome and vasculitis

Mercaptopurine-induced Sweet's syndrome

Sweet's syndrome is an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. Drug-induced Sweet's syndrome typically occurs soon after drug administration, with rapid resolution of symptoms with cessation of the offending agent. We report a man in his early 40s who presented with fever and widespread erythematous rash on a background of recently diagnosed mild stricturing ileal Crohn's disease. He was commenced on 6-mercaptopurine 12 days before presentation. Skin biopsy demonstrated diffuse infiltration of neutrophils in the upper dermis, dermal oedema, eosinophils and fibrin deposition. Symptoms rapidly improved with cessation of 6-mercaptopurine without requiring systemic corticosteroids.

Insights Into the Pathogenesis of Sweet's Syndrome

Sweet's syndrome, also known as Acute Febrile Neutrophilic Dermatosis, is a rare inflammatory condition. It is considered to be the prototype disease of neutrophilic dermatoses, and presents with acute onset dermal neutrophilic lesions, leukocytosis, and pyrexia. Several variants have been described both clinically and histopathologically. Classifications include classic Sweet's syndrome, malignancy associated, and drug induced. The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in Sweet's syndrome have been difficult to elucidate due to the large variety of conditions leading to a common clinical presentation. The exact pathogenesis of Sweet's syndrome is unclear; however, new discoveries have shed light on the role of inflammatory signaling, disease induction, and relationship with malignancy. These findings include an improved understanding of inflammasome activation, malignant transformation into dermal infiltrating neutrophils, and genetic contributions. Continued investigations into effective treatments and targeted therapy will benefit patients and improve our molecular understanding of inflammatory diseases, including Sweet's syndrome.

Refractory sweet syndrome with autoimmune organizing pneumonia treated with monoclonal antibodies to tumor necrosis factor

We describe a 54-year-old man with highly refractory Sweet syndrome associated with autoimmune multifocal organizing pneumonia and underlying myelodysplastic disorder. His lung disease responded to oral cyclophosphamide. However, his skin disease and systemic symptoms followed a chronic course and responded only to very high doses of corticosteroid and were refractory to a number of corticosteroid-sparing agents. He was ultimately treated with infliximab, resulting in remission of his cutaneous and systemic symptoms and successful tapering of his corticosteroid dose. Subsequently, infliximab was replaced with adalimumab to achieve more sustained remission. His pulmonary lesions have not recurred on this treatment. His myelodysplastic syndrome followed a very slowly progressive course consistent with refractory anemia. This case report demonstrates the effectiveness of treatment with monoclonal antibody specific for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) in a patient with severe manifestations of Sweet syndrome refractory to other treatments.

Facial Sweet syndrome mimicking photoallergic contact dermatitis

Sweet syndrome (acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis) usually presents with painful erythematous plaques, malaise, and fever. Histologically skin infiltration with neutrophils is characteristic. The etiology of the disease is unknown. Sweet syndrome can be subdivided into the classical form, which is usually idiopathic and is associated with some kind of inflammation, the paraneoplastic form and the drug-induced one. We present the unusual case of an 83-year-old woman who appeared to have facial photoallergic contact dermatitis but turned out to have facial Sweet syndrome.

Sweet's syndrome--a comprehensive review of an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis

Sweet's syndrome (the eponym for acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis) is characterized by a constellation of clinical symptoms, physical features, and pathologic findings which include fever, neutrophilia, tender erythematous skin lesions (papules, nodules, and plaques), and a diffuse infiltrate consisting predominantly of mature neutrophils that are typically located in the upper dermis. Several hundreds cases of Sweet's syndrome have been published. Sweet's syndrome presents in three clinical settings: classical (or idiopathic), malignancy-associated, and drug-induced. Classical Sweet's syndrome (CSS) usually presents in women between the age of 30 to 50 years, it is often preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection and may be associated with inflammatory bowel disease and pregnancy. Approximately one-third of patients with CSS experience recurrence of the dermatosis. The malignancy-associated Sweet's syndrome (MASS) can occur as a paraneoplastic syndrome in patients with an established cancer or individuals whose Sweet's syndrome-related hematologic dyscrasia or solid tumor was previously undiscovered; MASS is most commonly related to acute myelogenous leukemia. The dermatosis can precede, follow, or appear concurrent with the diagnosis of the patient's cancer. Hence, MASS can be the cutaneous harbinger of either an undiagnosed visceral malignancy in a previously cancer-free individual or an unsuspected cancer recurrence in an oncology patient. Drug-induced Sweet's syndrome (DISS) most commonly occurs in patients who have been treated with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, however, other medications may also be associated with DISS. The pathogenesis of Sweet's syndrome may be multifactorial and still remains to be definitively established. Clinical and laboratory evidence suggests that cytokines have an etiologic role. Systemic corticosteroids are the therapeutic gold standard for Sweet's syndrome. After initiation of treatment with systemic corticosteroids, there is a prompt response consisting of dramatic improvement of both the dermatosis-related symptoms and skin lesions. Topical application of high potency corticosteroids or intralesional corticosteroids may be efficacious for treating localized lesions. Other first-line oral systemic agents are potassium iodide and colchicine. Second-line oral systemic agents include indomethacin, clofazimine, cyclosporine, and dapsone. The symptoms and lesions of Sweet's syndrome may resolved spontaneously, without any therapeutic intervention; however, recurrence may follow either spontaneous remission or therapy-induced clinical resolution.

Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis: a histopathologic study of 31 cases with review of literature

Sweet syndrome is a neutrophilic dermatosis defined by diagnostic criteria that include the lack of evidence for leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Because of the clinicopathological similarities on the one hand and the strict exclusion on the other hand, we were interested in a systematic evaluation of the relationship between these two diseases. We investigated the clinical and histopathological characteristics of 31 patients with Sweet syndrome, comparing our cases with 32 cases of leukocytoclastic vasculitis (including seven cases of urticarial vasculitis) and tried to place them in the background of published cases. There is a close relationship between Sweet syndrome and leukocytoclastic vasculitis in terms of clinical appearance, histopathological pattern, triggers, disease course, and response to treatment. The majority of the cases (23/31; 74%) showed histologic evidence of vasculitis, including nuclear dust, extravasation of erythrocytes, fibrin in and around vessel walls, and degeneration of collagen. Although one original criterion for Sweet syndrome is the absence of vasculitis, we propose that vasculitic changes should not exclude the diagnosis of Sweet syndrome. In contrast, Sweet syndrome can demonstrate vasculitis and may, similarly to urticarial vasculitis, be regarded a variant of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Clinicopathologic characteristics with acute onset of juicy papules, plaques mostly on the face, shoulder, and trunk, and prominent edema probably reflect modifications of the pathogenetic process based on location and disease acuity.

Neutrophilic dermatosis of the hands: four new cases and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Isolated or predominantly hand involvement in Sweet's syndrome, pyoderma gangrenosum, or pustular vasculitis is a rare presentation in the spectrum of neutrophilic dermatoses and is often associated with an occult malignancy or other systemic inflammatory disorder. When these disorders occur on the hands, they are often clinically indistinguishable, but they can sometimes be separated histologically by the presence of papillary dermal edema (Sweet's syndrome), ulceration and necrosis (pyoderma gangrenosum), or vasculitis (pustular vasculitis). These distinctions may be arbitrary, however, and reflect differences in the temporal course of the disease and in the degree of inflammation at the time of biopsy.

METHODS

We report four cases of neutrophilic dermatosis affecting the hands and a review of the literature for similar cases.

RESULTS

Of the four patients presented, two had associated carcinomas and one had myelodysplasia in transition to leukemia. The cutaneous symptoms preceded the finding of an occult malignancy. Thirty-two reported cases of neutrophilic dermatoses presenting on the hands showed clinicopathologic features similar to those in our series. Taken together, the mean age at diagnosis was 60.5 years, and 58% of the patients were female. Twenty-five per cent (nine patients) also had myelodysplasia or leukemia, 14% (five patients) ulcerative colitis, 6% (two patients) carcinoma, 6% (two patients) Crohn's disease, and 6% (two patients) seropositive arthritis.

CONCLUSIONS

These cases illustrate the importance of recognizing that neutrophilic dermatoses may present uniquely or predominantly on the hands. This presentation is distinctive, and prompt diagnosis may prevent unnecessary medical or surgical therapy and may lead to the earlier diagnosis and treatment of an associated malignancy or other systemic disorder.

Diffuse febrile dermatosis in a patient with active ulcerative colitis under treatment with steroids and azathioprine: a case of Sweet's syndrome. Case report and review of literature

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease often associated with extra-intestinal manifestations, such as dermatological disorders. Of these, the most frequent are erythema nodosum and pyoderma gangrenosum, the two neutrophilic forms of dermatosis. Another is Sweet' s syndrome, which results in a sudden eruption of tender, raised erythematous or violaceous plaques/papules or nodules, less frequent vesicles, pustules or bullae, involving face, neck, arms and trunk. This skin disorder is frequently observed in patients with leukaemia or connective tissue diseases, while it is very rare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The present report deals with the case of a febrile diffuse skin eruption in a 53-year-old patient with moderately active ulcerative colitis after few days' treatment with steroids and azathioprine. At first, the dermatosis was addressed to an idiosyncrasy to azathioprine, which was, therefore, promptly discontinued. Histological examination of skin biopsies revealed the presence of features typical of a Sweet's syndrome. The eruption gradually improved as well as the patient's general condition, until complete regression was achieved following steroid treatment.

Sweet's syndrome revisited: a review of disease concepts

Sweet's syndrome, also referred to as acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, is characterized by a constellation of symptoms and findings: fever, neutrophilia, erythematous and tender skin lesions that typically show an upper dermal infiltrate of mature neutrophils, and prompt improvement of both symptoms and lesions after the initiation of treatment with systemic corticosteroids. Hundreds of patients with this dermatosis have been reported. The manifestations of Sweet's syndrome in these individuals have not only confirmed those originally described by Dr Robert Douglas Sweet in 1964, but have also introduced new features that have expanded the clinical and pathologic concepts of this condition. The history, clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, associated diseases, pathology, and treatment options of Sweet's syndrome are reviewed. The evolving and new concepts of this dermatosis that are discussed include: (i) Sweet's syndrome occurring in the clinical setting of a disease-related malignancy, or medication, or both; (ii) detection of additional sites of extracutaneous Sweet's syndrome manifestations; (iii) discovery of additional Sweet's syndrome-associated diseases; (iv) variability of the composition and/or location of the cutaneous inflammatory infiltrate in Sweet's syndrome lesions; and (v) additional efficacious treatments for Sweet's syndrome.

Pustular vasculitis of the hands

A case of pustular vasculitis of the hands with evidence of systemic involvement is described. A 64-year-old woman presented with a 2-day history of large, tense bullae arranged symmetrically over the dorsum of the three radial digits and extending on to the radial aspect of the dorsum of each hand. The bullae caused some discomfort and prevented normal use of her hands. There was no response to antibiotic therapy initiated prior to referral to hospital. Initial investigations revealed a raised white cell count with a neutrophilia, a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a raised C-reactive protein. Abnormalities of liver function were detected. Aspirates from the bullae and blood cultures were sterile. The histology of debrided tissue demonstrated a florid neutrophilic dermal infiltrate with many blood vessels associated with prominent fibrin. A diagnosis of pustular vasculitis of the hands was made. The bullae were surgically debrided and treatment with oral corticosteroids was started. Two days after commencement of oral prednisolone, a crusted pustule appeared on her upper cutaneous lip. There was rapid resolution of both the vasculitis of the hands and the pustule on her upper lip following an increase in the dose of oral prednisolone. The patient was discharged on the seventeenth day following admission.

Chronic granulomatous disease and acute neutrophilic dermatosis

Chronic granulomatous disease is an inherited disorder characterized by defective oxidative killing by neutrophils and other phagocytes. This results in susceptibility to persistent and life-threatening infections. We describe a 25-year-old man with chronic granulomatous disease who presented with an acute, febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. This indicates that normal neutrophil intracellular killing mechanisms are not essential in the pathogenesis of neutrophilic dermatoses.