Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis: Sweet's syndrome.

A case of acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet's syndrome) is described in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia, with a review of all published reports in the English literature. The disease is characterized by an acute febrile illness with painful plaques involving the extremities, face, and neck, and responds dramatically to corticosteroids with occasional recurrences. Histologically, the skin biopsy shows a dense dermal infiltrate of polymorphonuclear leukocytes without evidence of vasculitis.