Sweet Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
متلازمة سويت
Sweet syndrome is a rare inflammatory skin disorder causing sudden tender patches or nodules, sometimes with fever. Assessment excludes infection and investigates possible medicine or illness associations.
What is Sweet Syndrome?
It is also called acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis because neutrophils accumulate in the skin. The rash itself is not contagious and does not automatically mean cancer.
Related reading: A different inflammatory ulcer disorder.
Symptoms
Painful red or purple lesions commonly involve the face, neck, arms or trunk. Fever, malaise, joint pain and occasionally eye involvement may occur.
Causes
It may follow infection or accompany pregnancy or inflammatory disease, and medicines can trigger it. Some cases relate to blood disorders or malignancy; others have no identified cause.
Risk factors
Certain infections, blood disorders and medicines are associated with higher risk. No single risk factor establishes the diagnosis, and it can occur without a known underlying illness.
Diagnosis
Assessment reviews history, medicines, blood counts and inflammatory markers, often with a skin biopsy. Findings guide investigation for associated disease rather than indiscriminate testing.
Treatment
Corticosteroids or alternatives may be used under supervision while associated illness or a possible culprit medicine is addressed. Dose and duration depend on response and individual risks.
Complications
Episodes may recur and, rarely, organs beyond the skin may be affected. Persistent or changing symptoms need reassessment, and medicines require adverse-effect monitoring.
Prevention
There is no guaranteed prevention. Record previous episodes and medicines, follow associated conditions and do not restart a confirmed trigger without clinical advice.
When to see a doctor
A sudden painful rash with fever needs prompt review. Eye pain, reduced vision or severe systemic symptoms requires urgent assessment, particularly during immunosuppression.