title: Sweet's syndrome complicating ulcerative colitis: a rare association.
abstract: Sweet's syndrome (SS) is a neutrophilic dermatosis disorder of unknown aetiology, characterised by acute fever, neutrophilia, painful erythematous papules, nodules and plaques, and an infiltrate consisting predominantly of mature neutrophils in the upper dermis. Classical SS is a rare extra-intestinal manifestation of inﬂammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is more common in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis (UC). There is a predilection for women, and for patients with colonic disease and active IBD. We report the case of a 39-year-old woman with a flare of moderate severity UC treated with mesalazine who presented with a 5-day history of acute fever, painful papules and plaques on forearms and legs, episcleritis and cervical pain. Skin biopsies showed papillary dermis inflammatory cell infiltration composed mainly of neutrophils, without evidence of leukocytoclastic vasculitis or panniculitis, compatible with SS. The patient had an excellent response to systemic corticosteroids. Symptoms promptly improved and skin lesions resolved after 7 weeks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Pedro Hispano, Matosinhos, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rute
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lopes Caçola
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Pedro Hispano, Matosinhos, Portugal.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Pedro Hispano, Matosinhos, Portugal.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Pedro Hispano, Matosinhos, Portugal.
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furtado
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000378:metabolism; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016463:Sweet Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones