Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet's syndrome) with erythema nodosum and anterior scleritis. A case report

Relentlessly Progressive Sweet Syndrome of the Eye with Scleritis and Choroidal Infiltration

PURPOSE

To describe a case of Sweet syndrome, a dermatologic inflammatory disease, with progressive, unrelenting ocular findings.

METHODS

Case report.

RESULTS

A 73-year-old male was evaluated with a six-month history of Sweet syndrome, manifesting as cutaneous erythematous edematous papules on the dorsal arms and shins and confirmed with biopsy demonstrating neutrophil infiltration with nuclei fragmentation and lack of vasculitis. He initially noted a unilateral red eye with ocular pain and was found to have scleritis and choroidal infiltration. The patient's ocular disease progressed despite treatment with systemic corticosteroids, intraocular Ozurdex ®, systemic dapsone, and subtenons triamcinolone. Systemic evaluation was negative for malignancy or other inflammatory syndromes. Following 7 months of non-manageable ocular pain enucleation was offered to the patient, but he declined.

CONCLUSION

Sweet syndrome, a dermatologic condition, can be associated with unilateral scleritis and choroidal infiltration that are relentlessly progressive despite maximal systemic and ocular corticosteroid therapy.

Insights Into the Pathogenesis of Sweet's Syndrome

Sweet's syndrome, also known as Acute Febrile Neutrophilic Dermatosis, is a rare inflammatory condition. It is considered to be the prototype disease of neutrophilic dermatoses, and presents with acute onset dermal neutrophilic lesions, leukocytosis, and pyrexia. Several variants have been described both clinically and histopathologically. Classifications include classic Sweet's syndrome, malignancy associated, and drug induced. The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in Sweet's syndrome have been difficult to elucidate due to the large variety of conditions leading to a common clinical presentation. The exact pathogenesis of Sweet's syndrome is unclear; however, new discoveries have shed light on the role of inflammatory signaling, disease induction, and relationship with malignancy. These findings include an improved understanding of inflammasome activation, malignant transformation into dermal infiltrating neutrophils, and genetic contributions. Continued investigations into effective treatments and targeted therapy will benefit patients and improve our molecular understanding of inflammatory diseases, including Sweet's syndrome.

Neuro-Sweet Disease Causing Orbital Inflammation

Neuro-Sweet disease is a rare condition causing encephalitis or meningitis in addition to the erythematous skin plaques of Sweet syndrome. Neuro-Sweet disease has been associated with several ocular manifestations, including ocular movement disorders, episcleritis, conjunctivitis, uveitis, and optic disc oedema. The author reports a patient with orbital inflammation, cranial neuropathies, and a skin rash in the setting of myelodysplastic syndrome. Biopsy of her skin lesion confirmed the diagnosis of neuro-Sweet disease. To the author's knowledge, this is the first reported case of neuro-Sweet disease causing orbital inflammation. Her ocular inflammation resolved with the use of systemic corticosteroid treatment.

Skin manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disorder of the colon that is associated with several extraintestinal manifestations in multiple organs. Several mucous membrane and skin disorders occur in patients with UC. These disorders are not unique to UC and often occur secondary to other causes or in the absence of an apparent cause. One or more such disorders may occur together in association with UC. Mucous membrane and skin disorders may antedate, occur with, or postdate the onset of UC. The dermatologist plays an important role in suspecting the diagnosis of UC that presents with associated mucous membrane or skin disorders. This review covers the clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, workup, and management of selected mucocutaneous manifestations in UC.

Nodular scleritis and Sweet's syndrome

The authors report a case of nodular scleritis in Sweet's syndrome. The patient was a 40-year-old Malay woman with a history of Sweet's syndrome presented with a 6-day history of a red and painful right eye associated with blurred vision. Clinical examination revealed nodular scleritis of the right eye which was deemed secondary to Sweet's syndrome after investigations for other systemic diseases were negative. The patient demonstrated good response to systemic corticosteroid therapy with complete resolution of scleritis in the right eye. However, her inflammatory skin condition worsened each time the systemic corticosteroids were tapered so colchicine and dapsone were added to treat the dermatologic disease. Ocular manifestations are uncommon in Sweet's syndrome but it is important to diagnose and treat them. This will prevent ocular morbidity and ensure a good clinical outcome.

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

Sweet's syndrome (the eponym for acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis) is characterized by a constellation of clinical symptoms, physical features, and pathologic findings which include fever, neutrophilia, tender erythematous skin lesions (papules, nodules, and plaques), and a diffuse infiltrate consisting predominantly of mature neutrophils that are typically located in the upper dermis. Several hundreds cases of Sweet's syndrome have been published. Sweet's syndrome presents in three clinical settings: classical (or idiopathic), malignancy-associated, and drug-induced. Classical Sweet's syndrome (CSS) usually presents in women between the age of 30 to 50 years, it is often preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection and may be associated with inflammatory bowel disease and pregnancy. Approximately one-third of patients with CSS experience recurrence of the dermatosis. The malignancy-associated Sweet's syndrome (MASS) can occur as a paraneoplastic syndrome in patients with an established cancer or individuals whose Sweet's syndrome-related hematologic dyscrasia or solid tumor was previously undiscovered; MASS is most commonly related to acute myelogenous leukemia. The dermatosis can precede, follow, or appear concurrent with the diagnosis of the patient's cancer. Hence, MASS can be the cutaneous harbinger of either an undiagnosed visceral malignancy in a previously cancer-free individual or an unsuspected cancer recurrence in an oncology patient. Drug-induced Sweet's syndrome (DISS) most commonly occurs in patients who have been treated with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, however, other medications may also be associated with DISS. The pathogenesis of Sweet's syndrome may be multifactorial and still remains to be definitively established. Clinical and laboratory evidence suggests that cytokines have an etiologic role. Systemic corticosteroids are the therapeutic gold standard for Sweet's syndrome. After initiation of treatment with systemic corticosteroids, there is a prompt response consisting of dramatic improvement of both the dermatosis-related symptoms and skin lesions. Topical application of high potency corticosteroids or intralesional corticosteroids may be efficacious for treating localized lesions. Other first-line oral systemic agents are potassium iodide and colchicine. Second-line oral systemic agents include indomethacin, clofazimine, cyclosporine, and dapsone. The symptoms and lesions of Sweet's syndrome may resolved spontaneously, without any therapeutic intervention; however, recurrence may follow either spontaneous remission or therapy-induced clinical resolution.