[Vasculitis in Sweet's Syndrome]

Also called acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, Sweet's syndrome is non-infective dermatoses that exhibit a predominantly neutrophilic inflammatory infiltrate. Absence of vasculitis is a histologic criterion for diagnosis. However, recent reports suggest that vasculitis should not exclude the diagnosis.

To describe their clinical, pathological and therapeutic characteristics.

We report a series of 47 cases of Sweet's syndrome, collected in our institution between 1997 and 2011.

The patient population consisted of 11 males and 36 females. The mean age was 47 years (28-74). An associated disease process was seen in 10 patients: inflammatory disease (3 cases), inflammatory bowel disease (2 cases), tuberculosis (3 cases) and diabetes (3 cases). One case of pregnancy was observed. In the prodromal phase, functional symptoms were reported in 38 cases (80.8%). Cutaneous lesions consisted of erythematous plaques or nodules. Lesions were located mainly on the upper or lower extremities. All biopsy specimens demonstrated a dermal infiltrate composed predominantly of neutrophils. Fibrinoid necrosis and intramural inflammation were observed in 8 cases.

The dermatosis can precede, follow, or appear concurrent with the diagnosis of the patient's diseases which requires careful surveillance.