Korean J Dermatol.  2021 Mar;59(3):167-174.

A Clinical and Histopathological Review of Sweet Syndrome in Korean Children and Adolescents

• Shin JY
• Lee JY
• Yoon TY

Abstract

Background
Sweet syndrome is characterized by tender erythematous plaques and nodules with predominantly dermal neutrophilic infiltrates. Sweet syndrome is relatively rare in children and adolescents. To date, only a few cases have been reported in Korean literature.
Objective
The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and histopathological features of Sweet syndrome in Korean children and adolescents.
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted on 15 pediatric patients (aged ＜18 years) who were diagnosed with Sweet syndrome between 1991 and 2019. We reviewed the clinical and histopathological features of Sweet syndrome.
Results
The age of the 15 patients ranged from 4 months to 17 years. Among the 15 patients with Sweet syndrome, nine patients were females and six patients were males. Most patients (80%) had lesions on the upper extremities. Fever and tenderness (60%) were the most commonly associated symptoms. Transient infections such as upper respiratory infection or gastroenteritis were the most common identifiable cause, observed in 40% of patients. Histopathologically, dermal neutrophilic infiltration was observed in all patients. All patients were treated with systemic corticosteroids and showed a good response, although 26.7% of the patients experienced symptom recurrence. During the follow-up period, there were no incidences of any complications or extracutaneous manifestations in the patients.
Conclusion
In contrast to previous reports of pediatric Sweet syndrome, female predominance was observed in this study. Transient infection was the most common factor. All patients responded well to systemic corticosteroid therapy without complications or extracutaneous manifestations during the follow-up period.

Keyword

Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis; Adolescent; Children; Sweet syndrome