[Neutrophilic dermatosis of the hands: acral sweet syndrome?]

Neutrophilic dermatosis may have various clinical presentations but share common histopathological manifestations with an aseptic infiltrate of polymorphonuclears neutrophils. Neutrophilic dermatosis of the hands is a recently described disorder of which we present a case.

A 60-year-old woman, without significant past medical history, presented with an acute and painful eruption of both hands with fever. Clinical examination showed erythematous edematous lesions surmounted by pustules that covered the thenar eminences of both hands. The patient was also presenting inflammatory joint pain. Histological findings were predominantly neutrophilic infiltration in the dermis with leukocytoclastic debris. A diagnosis of neutrophilic dermatosis was made and all the lesions disappeared rapidly without relapse under oral prednisone (0.5mg/kg/j).

The eruption observed in our patient was clinically and histologically suggestive of neutrophilic dermatosis of the hands, confirming the existence of a homogenous entity which is still debatable if it constitutes a separate entity or a localized variant of Sweet syndrome.