Sweet's syndrome – a comprehensive review of an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis

Table 2 Clinical features in patients with Sweet's syndrome

	Clinical Form
Characteristic	Classical^a	Hematologic malignancy^a	Solid tumor^a	Drug-induced^b
*Epidemiology*
Women	80	50	59	71
Prior upper respiratory tract infection	75–90	16	20	21
Recurrence^c	30	69	41	67
*Clinical symptoms*
Fever^d	80–90	88	79	100
Musculoskeletal involvement	12–56	26	34	21
Ocular involvement	17–72	7	15	21
*Lesion location*
Upper extremities	80	89	97	71
Head and neck	50	63	52	43
Trunk and back	30	42	33	50
Lower extremities	Infrequent	49	48	36
Oral mucous membranes	2	12	3	7
*Laboratory findings*
Neutrophilia^e	80	47	60	38
Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate^f	90	100	95	100
Anemia^g	Infrequent	82	83	100
Abnormal platelet count^h	Infrequent	68	50	50
Abnormal renal functionⁱ	11–50	15	7	0

^aPercentages for classical, hematologic malignancy, and solid tumor associated Sweet's syndrome adapted with permission from Cohen PR, Kurzrock R: Sweet's syndrome and cancer. Clin Dermatol 1993;11:149–157 [15]. Copyright 1993, Reprinted with permission from Elsevier Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom.
^bPercentages for drug-induced Sweet's syndrome adapted with permission from Walker DC, Cohen PR: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-associated acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis: case report and review of drug induced Sweet's syndrome. J Am Acad Dermatol 1996;34:918–923 [13]. Copyright 1996, Reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Dermatology, Inc., Elsevier Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom.
^cRecurrence following oral rechallenge testing in the patients with drug-induced Sweet's syndrome.
^dTemperature greater than 38°C.
^eNeutrophil count greater than 6,000 cells/ul.
^fErythrocyte sedimentation rate greater than 20 mm/hr.
^gHemoglobin less than 13 g/dl in men and less than 12 g/dl in women.
^hPlatelet count less than 150,000/ul or greater than 500,000/ul.
ⁱThis includes hematuria, proteinuria, and renal insufficiency.

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