Infectious Disease Compendium

Sweets Syndrome (aka Febrile Neutropenic Dermatitis)

Diagnosis

Not an infection (?). Fever and a rash, often raised, that looks like a cellulitis. Biopsy makes the diagnosis. It is an infiltrate of the skin by PMN's.

Other organs can be involved.

Review: (PubMed).

Epidemiologic Risks

Half of patients have an underlying, usually hematologic, malignancy. Some are idiopathic. Occasionally due to drugs.

Microbiology

Not applicable.

Empiric Therapy

Steroids AFTER the biopsy.

Pearls

Curiously, it can occur during neutropenia, just where those white cells are coming from, I haven't figured out.

And it can be caused by G-CSF.

The original paper.

Last Update: 02/22/19.