Handful of Sweets

Kommana et al present the case of a 53-year-old woman with painful swellings on both palms and mild fever. The day after admittance, she developed conjunctival hyperemia. Although the skin lesions had not progressed, a skin biopsy was taken. Histopathologic examination revealed superficial perivascular and interstitial inflammatory infiltrates composed predominantly of neutrophils, marked papillary dermal edema, and no evidence of vaculitis. The clinical and pathologic results were indicative of Sweet's syndrome, an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. This condition is characterized by the appearance of erythematous or violaceous juicy, neutrophil-infiltrated plaques occurring on the face and upper extremities associated with onset of fever and leukocytosis.