To the Editor.鈥�听
S茅zary's cells are characteristically found in the peripheral blood smears of patients with S茅zary's syndrome and have been noted histologically in malignant, premalignant, and benign dermatoses.1,2 These cells also have been noted in the peripheral blood of patients with "pre-S茅zary's erythroderma syndrome."3 However, we have found that a few S茅zary's cells are commonly present in the peripheral blood of patients with generalized dermatitis of varied causes.When serial peripheral blood smears were taken from patients at the Mayo Clinic, who were hospitalized for exfoliative dermatitis, S茅zary's cells amounted to 1% to 3% of the total cell count and were frequently found during the acute phase of the severe dermatitis. We found that S茅zary's cells were no longer demonstrable when the dermatitis cleared; this also was noted in generalized contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and exfoliative psoriasis.The graph of serial counts of S茅zary's cells is characteristic