Sweet's syndrome in an Australian hospital: a retrospective analysis

A retrospective analysis was performed of patients meeting the clinicopathological diagnosis of Sweet's syndrome identified over a 10-year period, in a metropolitan hospital. Nine patients met the inclusion criteria. Two patients had preceding streptococcal infection, two had associated inflammatory bowel disease, two had idiopathic Sweet's syndrome, and three had an underlying malignancy, one of whom was receiving granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Although only three patients were found to have an elevated white cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein was elevated in all patients when measured. There was a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, with variations in lesion distribution and the presence/absence of systemic symptoms such as fever and arthralgia. Fever was observed in two-thirds of cases. Seven patients responded to oral corticosteroids, while one patient cleared spontaneously and one patient was lost to follow up. As erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein was elevated in all cases when measured, it may be a useful diagnostic tool.