Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet syndrome): a cause to be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory skin disorders associated with febrile processes

Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet's Syndrome) is a rare inflammatory disease that is characterized by fever, myalgias, arthralgias, neutrophilia, and painful well-demarcated erythematous plaques. The histological examination shows a dense dermal infiltrate of neutrophils, often with intense leukocytoclasia and papillary dermal edema. It frequently affects areas exposed to light. It was originally described by Robert Sweet in 1964. Since then, hundreds of patients have been reported. It may occur in the absence of other diseases but is often associated with malignant conditions, including leukemia, and may be precipitated by drugs, infections and also pregnancy. Although these described associations, its physiopathology is not well defined Vasculitis occurs secondary to noxious products released from neutrophils. As for the etiopathogenesis, cytokines are important in precipitating this dermatosis. Systemic glucocorticoids are used in the treatment; however, prolonged use may be necessary to suppress the recurrences. This paper reports a 37-year-old female presenting Sweet's Syndrome who presented with sudden onset of fever, headache, gastrointestinal tract symptoms and use of symptomatic medicine for the described case.