Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb
Abstract
Two hundred and twelve animals examined over a one-year period at the Dermatology Department of Small Animal Clinic, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, were included in a retrospective study. For further evaluation dogs with flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), Canine atopic disease (CAD) and Food hypersensitivity as the first differential diagnosis (n = 126) were considered. Among the clinical features in these dogs, erythema
was most frequently found (83.4%). Owners (23.9%) were able to provide us with the familial history of their dog and 13.6% described allergic skin disease symptoms in one or more of their dogs’ relatives. After initial diagnostic procedures, i.e. skin scrabs, cytology and bacteriology, accurate initial therapy was constituted when a relevant elimination diet was prescribed for 3 months. Evaluation of the diet trial was done by recording clinical improvement and by estimation of the pruritus intensity. In 37 (29.4%) dogs’ skin problem symptoms were effectively suppressed by elimination diet. The condition of 34 dogs improved with initial therapy or they were lost for further evaluation. Dogs that did not completely improve by elimination diet and initial therapy (n = 50) were submitted for intradermal (ID) allergic testing (46 dogs) or IgE measurement (4 dogs). Tested dogs were sensitised against multiple antigens in the majority of cases (47 of 50). A group of storage and house dust mites represented the most common antigens. The most frequent mite was Acarus siro against which 71.7% of our ID tested dogs were sensitisedU istraživanje je bilo uključeno 212 pasa pretraženih u tijeku godine dana na Dermatološkom odjelu Klinike za male životinje Veterinarskoga fakulteta Sveučilišta u Ljubljani. Razmatrani su bili psi s alergijskim dermatitisom na ubod buha, atopijskom bolesti i preosjetljivošću na hranu kao početnom diferencijalnom dijagnozom (n = 126). Eritem je ustanovljen kao najčešći (83,4%) klinički znak bolesti u tih pasa. Svega 23,9% vlasnika moglo je dati podatke o povijesti svoga psa, a 13,6% je opisalo znakove alergijske bolesti kože u jednog ili više srodnika njihovih pasa. Nakon početnoga dijagnostičkoga postupka, tj. uzimanja sastrugane kože, citološke i bakteriološke pretrage, određena je početna terapija s uskraćivanjem odgovarajuće hrane tijekom tri mjeseca. Učinak pokusne dijete razmotren je nakon postizanja kliničkog poboljšanja i to procjenom jačine svrbeža. Uvođenjem dijetne prehrane u 37 (29,4%) pasa poremećaji na koži bili su bitno blaži. Stanje se u 34 psa poboljšalo nakon početne terapije ili dalje nisu bili promatrani. Psi u kojih se stanje nije u potpunosti poboljšalo uskraćivanjem određene hrane i početne terapije (n = 50) bili su podvrgnuti intradermalnom alergijskom testiranju (46 pasa) ili mjerenju IgE (4 psa). Testirani psi bili su u većini slučajeva (47 od 50) preosjetljivi na više antigena. Ustanovljeno je da je skupina grinja iz kućne prašine najčešći antigen. Najčešća grinja bila je Acarus siro na koju je bilo senzibilizirano 71,7% testiranih pasa