Sweet's syndrome with panuveitis resembling Behçet's disease

Sweet's syndrome (SS) is a skin disorder clinically characterized by fever, neutrophilia, and painful edematous plaques that occasionally causes posterior uveitis. We present two cases of SS with panuveitis resembling Behçet's disease (BD).

Two patients with panuveitis associated with SS.

The patient in case 1 was a 57-year-old Japanese man who developed acute severe iritis with hypopyon in the left eye. Fluorescein angiography (FA) performed 1 month after treatment showed findings observed in posterior uveitis: dye leakage from the optic disc and a petaloid pattern of hyperfluorescence in the macular region. The patient in case 2 was a 64-year-old Japanese man who complained of blurred vision in his left eye. Faint flare and occasional cells were present in the left anterior chamber, 2+ cells in the anterior vitreous, and 2+ vitreous opacification in the left eye. FA demonstrated dye leakage from the optic disc and peripheral capillary vessels in both eyes. Both patients were diagnosed as having SS on the basis of fever, neutrophilia, elevated C-reactive protein, and skin biopsy results of neutrophilic infiltration without vasculitis.

Differentiation of SS from BD based on the ocular manifestations is difficult. Ophthalmologists should bear in mind that SS can exhibit panuveitis resembling BD.