A 44-year-old woman presents with sudden-onset tender erythematous plaques on the face and forearms with fever and neutrophilic leucocytosis. Biopsy shows a dense dermal neutrophilic infiltrate without vasculitis. Peripheral smear shows circulating blasts. This eruption is most strongly associated with which condition?

• A Coeliac disease
• B Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• C Systemic sarcoidosis
• D Acute myeloid leukaemia ✓

Explanation

Sweet syndrome, acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, presents with painful oedematous plaques, fever, and a dermal neutrophilic infiltrate without leukocytoclastic vasculitis; the malignancy-associated form is most tightly linked to acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, and blasts in the smear clinch that link. Sarcoidosis and coeliac disease produce granulomatous and blistering patterns respectively, not a neutrophilic dermatosis.

Reference: Fitzpatrick's Dermatology, 9th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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