title: The incidence of Sweet's syndrome in Geneva. A retrospective study of 29 cases.
abstract: Over a 12-year period (1979-1991), 29 cases of Sweet's syndrome (SS) were detected in the area of Geneva; 24 patients (82%) could be contacted for follow-up. The majority of SS occurred between 1979 and 1986, then from 1991 on. The annual distribution and especially the absence of cases during 4 years suggest an environmental or even infectious factor in SS. Only 4 cases had an underlying disease (ulcerative colitis, polycythemia, lymphoma, sarcoidosis) whereas in the other, a long-term follow-up, including iterative hematological evaluation, did not reveal any underlying condition. Twelve patients were treated by colchicine, 9 by potassium iodide and 5 by prednisone; in 3 patients remission was spontaneous. Nine patients (28%) relapsed; there was no relationship between the type of drugs used and the frequency of relapses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hommel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Saurat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D016463:Sweet Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology