Neutrophil eccrine hidradenitis in a patient with AIDS

A classic clinical case: neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis

BACKGROUND

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis (NEH) is a rare condition described mostly in adult patients receiving chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia. When it affects the facial region, it can mimic cellulitis and delay the diagnostic, thus proper recognition is essential.

OBJECTIVE

This article describes a classic case of NEH. We will review the diagnostic, the differential diagnostic (mostly cellulitis) and the management of this condition.

METHODS

After a literature review, the patient's file was properly studied in order to portray a clear picture of this condition. Medical photographs and appropriate physical examination upon presentation are also included.

RESULTS

The diagnostic for NEH was suggested by the clinical presentation and confirmed histopathologically (skin biopsy).

CONCLUSION

The diagnostic of NEH is essential in order to prevent multiple unnecessary antibiotics.

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis masquerading as facial cellulitis

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis typically manifests as erythematous plaques on the face, trunk, or extremities. This eruption has been associated with numerous factors, but most commonly is seen with chemotherapy, particularly cytarabine. We report a 73-year-old woman with acute myelogenous leukemia who developed rapidly expansive neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis mimicking facial cellulitis only after a course of cytarabine was followed by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. Prompt diagnosis is imperative to prevent prolonged antimicrobial therapy.

Infectious eccrine hidradenitis caused by nocardia

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis is a nonspecific clinical reaction pattern classified as a neutrophilic dermatosis that typically occurs in the setting of chemotherapy for hematologic malignant disease. Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis more rarely has been reported in association with infectious agents, including Serratia, Enterobacter, Staphylococcus, and HIV. We describe the first case of infectious eccrine hidradenitis occurring in a patient with cutaneous Nocardia infection.

Chronic pruritic neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis in a patient with Behçet's disease

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis (NEH) is a rare distinct entity that usually presents as asymptomatic erythematous papules that disappear spontaneously in 1-3 weeks. However, its appearance may be polymorphic, pruritic, recurrent or even chronic as is described in this case. The histological combination of neutrophilic infiltration in and necrosis of the eccrine secretory gland epithelium is highly characteristic for NEH. It typically occurs in patients receiving chemotherapeutic drugs for malignancies, but other associations have also been reported. To our knowledge, we report the first case of NEH in a patient with Behçet's disease (BD). Cutaneous manifestations of BD, an inflammatory systemic disorder of unknown origin, include neutrophilic dermatoses such as Sweet's syndrome and pyoderma gangrenosum, although these are unusual in BD. NEH could be another neutrophilic dermatosis related to BD. This observation suggests that NEH is not strictly related to chemotherapeutic drugs and malignancies. It appears to be a reactive dermatosis associated with other factors as well, including BD. Treatment was successful with dapsone 100 mg daily.

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis secondary to topotecan

BACKGROUND

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis (NEH) is a self-restricted inflammatory condition, usually secondary to chemotherapeutic agents and less frequently to other drugs such as zidovudine or various infections. NEH clinical features include erythematous, occasionally painful nodules and plaques. Histological examinations reveal neutrophilic infiltrates and degeneration of eccrine glands.

METHODS

A 45-year-old female was treated with topotecan and colony-stimulating factor for ovarian cancer.

RESULTS

The erythematous and slightly pruritic plaques on the upper and lower limbs and ear lobes appeared approximately 1 week after chemotherapy and spontaneously subsided in about 10 days, only to recur after the next drug dose. A skin biopsy revealed NEH; all skin cultures were negative.

CONCLUSION

It is believed that this patient developed topotecan-induced NEH; this relationship with therapy rather than the underlying disease rules out a paraneoplastic reaction, and negative cultures excluded infectious causes. In addition, since skin lesions recurred after CSF was discontinued, this agent was not involved. Studies relating NEH to topotecan, a topoisomerasa I inhibitor, have not reported such an event in the literature.

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis secondary to infection with Serratia marcescens

Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis (NEH) is a rare dermatosis which usually develops after administration of chemotherapeutic treatments. An infective origin is exceptional. We report a patient, previously operated on for ependymoma, who presented with an eruption typical of NEH even though he had not received chemotherapy. Culture of a skin biopsy revealed Serratia marcescens. The dermatosis improved after antibiotic therapy but recurred twice and culture again isolated S. marcescens; electron microscopy revealed cytoplasmic inclusions within neutrophils, suggestive of bacteria. The disease improved every time with appropriate antibiotic therapy. An infective aetiology for NEH is rare: three such cases have been reported, of which one was due to S. marcescens. The originality of our case is the recurrence of the disease on three occasions with the same bacterium isolated on each occasion, with disease remission after antibiotic therapy. This case confirms that infections may be a possible cause of NEH and underlines the necessity to search for infective agents, especially in patients immunocompromised by haematopoietic malignancies and/or chemotherapeutic treatments.