What is "Sweet Syndrome"?

QUESTION: My friend's daughter has been diagnosed as having "Sweet Syndrome".
She can tell my friend nothing about the disease except that she is on
prednisone. What can you tell us about this? Apparently it is not common.
You cannot imagine how important this is to us.
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ANSWER: Described first by Dr. R.D. Sweet in 1964, Sweet's Syndrome is a skin
disease that occurs in women of middle age. An infection usually occurs
before the onset of this condition, which consists of painful eruptions on the
skin of the limbs, face and neck. As the rash progresses the lesions turn
into pustules, and the course of the illness is marked by a high, persistent
temperature. The condition is also known as "acute febrile neutrophilic
dermatosis," because a microscopic examination of tissue from the skin plaques
reveals many white cells (neutrophils) within the cell structure of the skin.
The white cell count in the blood is also elevated somewhat, and at least one
published paper links Sweet's Syndrome to acute leukemia. Research into the
cause of the condition has revealed little, and the current opinion is that
the condition may result from the patient's hypersensitivity to the bug that
caused the original infection. Although antibiotics are apparently
ineffective in treating the syndrome, steroids (prednisone) can be most useful
in controlling the condition, and are effective for as long as they are given.
The illness may last for two weeks or more, and relapses are common, usually
preceded by infections. A call from a concerned parent to the physician
should result in more information about this patient's condition.
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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.