SWEETS-SYNDROME ASSOCIATED WITH NONTUBERCULOUS MYCOBACTERIAL INFECTION - A REPORT OF 5 CASES

We report the rare association of Sweet's syndrome with non-tuberculou s mycobacteria in five patients (three women, two men, aged 25-41 year s). Clinical and histological evidence supported the diagnosis of Swee t's syndrome in all patients. The skin lesions responded well to syste mic corticosteroid but recurred in two cases. All of our patients had chronic disseminated nontuberculous mycobacterial infection. They init ially presented with lymphadenopathy and developed involvement in othe r organs later. All of them were treated as having tuberculous lymphad enitis based on pathological findings before definite diagnosis was ma de by culture. The organisms isolated were Mycobacterium chelonae in t hree cases, hi. scrofulaceum in one case and hi. avium intracellulare complex in one case. All the patients gradually improved with treatmen t but one had multiple recurrences. The search for an infectious agent , especially non-tuberculous mycobacteria, should be performed in case s of Sweet's syndrome that appear in association with chronic granulom atous lymphadenitis which is recalcitrant to antituberculous drugs.