Feline Atopic Dermatitis: A Retrospective Study of 194 Cases (1988^|^ndash;2003)

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis was diagnosed in 13.8% of the feline dermatology cases and 0.9% of all cats examined over a 15-year period. No age or sex predilection was found, but Abyssinians, Himalayans, and Persians were over-represented. Clinical signs were nonseasonal in 62.4% of the cats. Cutaneous reaction patterns -in descending order of prevalence -included initially lesionless symmetrical pruritus (especially face, ears, and neck), self-induced hair loss (especially abdomen, back, and legs), miliary dermatitis (especially back and neck), and eosinophilic granuloma complex (especially lips, abdomen, and medial thighs). Multiple cutaneous reaction patterns were present in 36.2% of the cats. Secondary bacterial or yeast infections occurred in 18.6% and 6.6%, respectively, of the cats. Only 4.5% of the cats had concurrent food allergy, and none had flea-bite hypersensitivity. Medical management with systemic glucocorticoids, antihistamines, omega-6/ omega-3 fatty acids, allergen-specific immunotherapy, or combinations of these provided satisfactory control of clinical signs for the majority of affected cats.

Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (3): prevalence of cutaneous adverse food reactions in dogs and cats

“…The selected articles reported information from small animal patients from all over the world: cats came from Australia [ 26 , 27 ], Canada [ 1 , 3 ], New Zealand [ 5 ], the UK [ 10 ], the USA [ 24 , 25 ] or from a worldwide survey [ 22 ]. Dogs with CAFR had been diagnosed in Brazil [ 18 , 19 , 28 ], Canada [ 1 , 3 ], the Czech Republic [ 16 ], Hungary [ 14 ], Iran [ 23 ], Italy [ 13 , 20 ], the Netherlands and Belgium [ 4 , 7 ], Slovenia [ 15 ], Switzerland [ 9 , 17 ], Sweden [ 12 ], the UK [ 6 , 8 , 10 , 11 ] and the USA [ 2 ]; there was also a large worldwide survey [ 21 ].…”

An Open Clinical Trial on the Efficacy of Loratadine for the Management of Allergic Pruritus in 27 Cats

“…Antihistamines have been reported to satisfactorily reduce pruritus in allergic cats in a variable percentage of the animals treated 1,4,5,9) . In one large retrospective study 11) , antihistamines were reported to control the pruritus in 30.6% (34 of 111 cats) of the cats with atopic dermatitis. In that study, control was maintained for follow-up periods of 0.5 to 9 years, and for >1 year in 28/34 (82.4%) cats.…”

“…All cats exhibited one or more of the following cutaneous patterns typical of allergic cats 6,11,12) : initially lesionless symmetrical pruritus (involving the face, pinnae, and/or neck) often leading to excoriation (cases 1, 5, 7, 8, 10-13, 19-23); self-induced hair loss (involving the abdomen, back, and/or legs) with normalappearing skin (cases 2-6, 13, 14, 17, 19-22, 26, 27); miliary dermatitis (papulocrustous dermatitis involving the neck and back) (cases 9, 12, 13, 17, 23); and eosinophilic granuloma complex (eosinophilic plaques and granulomas of ventral abdomen, caudal thighs, and upper lips) (cases 15, 16, 18). The duration of clinical signs varied from 2 months to 3 years.…”

“…Allergic skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, food allergy, flea-bite allergy, mosquito-bite allergy) are very common in cats, accounting for 32.7% of all feline dermatological diagnoses in a recent 15-year study 10) . Antihistamines are frequently used in the management of feline allergic dermatitis, especially atopic dermatitis 6,7,11) . However, peer-reviewed publications on the use of antihistamines for the management of pruritus in allergic cats are few in number 1,4,5,9) .…”

Feline allergic diseases: introduction and proposed nomenclature

“…2 Compared to the base clinic population, domestic mixed breeds, Abyssinian and Devon rex were predisposed. In a further report of 194 cases of AD seen at a teaching hospital, Abyssinians, Himalayans and Persians were over-represented, 24 and the Abyssinian also was implicated in a report from Germany 25 which described five related Abyssinian cats that developed cardiomyopathy, three of which that also developed a pruritic dermatitis. Although this was not fully characterised, it was compatible with AD.…”