title: Sweet's syndrome as the presenting symptom of hairy cell leukemia with concomitant infection by Mycobacterium kansasii.
abstract: A patient with Sweet's syndrome and leukopenia is reported. Hematological evaluation revealed hairy cell leukemia (HCL). The clinical picture was dominated by persistent fever, which is a common feature of both Sweet's syndrome and HCL. Since fever frequently reflects concomitant infection in HCL, a thorough search for infectious disease was performed. Blood cultures grew Mycobacterium kansasii. The patient recovered after treatment with recombinant interferon-alpha (r-IFN-alpha) and tuberculostatic drugs. Remarkably, the skin lesions completely regressed within 1 week after the start of r-IFN-alpha. In the literature, Sweet's syndrome is rarely mentioned as a feature of HCL. Mycobacterial disease, especially atypical mycobacteria, is relatively often seen in HCL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kramers
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Raemaekers
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: van Baar
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: de Pauw
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Horrevorts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007943:Leukemia, Hairy Cell / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D016463:Sweet Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha