NEUTROPHILIC DERMATOSES DURING GRANULOCYTOPENIA

Background and Design: Noninfectious cutaneous neutrophilic lesions can occur during granulocytopenia, but their mechanism remains unknown. We undertook a retrospective study of the neutrophilic dermatoses that developed during granulocytopenia induced by chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia. Results: Seven men and one woman were included (2.6% of treated cases of acute myelogenous leukemia); half had acute myelogenous leukemia subtypes 4 and 5. The male-to-female ratio was 7:1. Neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis was diagnosed in five cases, Sweet's syndrome in two cases, and difficult-to-classify neutrophilic dermatoses in one case. Cutaneous lesions appeared 12.5 days after the start of chemotherapy, and the mean leukocyte count was 0.426 X 10(9)/L. Three patients needed corticosteroids systemically. Conclusion: Neutrophilic dermatoses during chemotherapy-induced granulocytopenia seem to occur more frequently in men with acute myelogenous leukemia subtypes 4 and 5.