Necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) is a feared and potentially morbid postoperative complication requiring prompt surgical intervention. Cutaneous conditions that mimic NSTI have been reported and rarely occur in the postoperative period. Sweet syndrome, also known as acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, is a dermatologic condition characterized by fever, neutrophil-predominant leukocytosis, and painful skin lesions. Necrotizing Sweet syndrome (NSS) is an aggressive variant that causes a clinical appearance of localized skin necrosis and histologic evidence of necrotic foci extending to the deep aspects of the soft tissues and involving fascia and/or skeletal muscle. Necrotizing Sweet syndrome can be easily mistaken for NSTI. Contrary to infection, Sweet syndrome and NSS are worsened by surgical intervention due to the phenomenon of pathergy and readily respond to corticosteroid treatment. We present the case of a 54-year-old woman who developed NSS following an uncomplicated fasciectomy for Dupuytren disease.
Keywords: diagnosis; infection; necrotizing Sweet syndrome; necrotizing soft tissue infection; postoperative complications; wound management.