Sweet Syndrome: Clinical and Laboratory Findings of 31 Cases

Abstract

Background and Design: Sweet syndrome is an inflammatory disease characterized by the abrupt onset of pain, red papules and plaques, fever, neutrophilic leukocytosis, and dermal neutrophilic infiltrate. There are not enough data about Sweet syndrome in Turkey. In this article, we studied clinical, laboratory, histopathological, and epidemiological characteristics of patients, who presented to our clinic, and compared the findings with the literature. Materials and Methods: All patients diagnosed with Sweet syndrome in our clinic between 2005 and 2011 were included in the study. The epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings were retrospectively evaluated. Results: A total of 31 patients with Sweet's syndrome - 24 female (77.4%), 7 male (22.6%); aged 23-82 years included in the study. The average age of the patients was 48 years. Cutaneous lesions were most frequently localized in the upper extremity. Conjunctivitis was the common systemic manifestation, followed by fever, arthralgia, and myalgia. The most common trigger factor was infections of the upper respiratory tract. In histopathological evaluations of skin biopsies, dense neutrophil infiltration compatible with Sweet syndrome was detected in the dermis. Also, findings of vasculitis were determined in 3 patients. Discussion: The clinical and laboratory findings in our study are mostly similar to those reported in the literature. We found evidence of vasculitis in 10% of cases, therefore, we think the presence of vasculitis does not necessarily rule out the diagnosis of Sweet syndrome