Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blistering skin disease in young dogs with oral and footpad sores
By Bizikova, Petra et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2015·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine epidermolysis bullosa acquisita: a retrospective study of 20 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 1-year-old male Great Dane was diagnosed with a rare skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA), which caused painful blisters and sores, mainly in his mouth and on his ears and feet. The vet treated him with glucocorticoids, either alone or with other medications, and most dogs in the study showed significant improvement, with many recovering completely in about two months. Unfortunately, a few dogs did not respond to treatment and were euthanized. Overall, the findings suggest that with the right treatment, dogs with EBA can have a better outcome than previously thought.
People also search for: Great Dane skin problems · dog blisters treatment · autoimmune skin disease in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a rare autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease of dogs and humans. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to describe clinical phenotypes, histopathology and treatment outcomes of canine EBA. ANIMALS: Twenty dogs diagnosed with EBA based on a subepidermal blister formation and collagen VII autoreactivity. RESULTS: Most dogs were young (median: 1.2-year-old) with a male-to-female ratio of 2.3:1. Nine of 20 dogs (45%) developed lesions before one year of age and 11 of 20 dogs (55%) were great danes. Tense vesicles and bullae (18 of 20; 90%) and deep erosions and ulcers (20 of 20; 100%) were the most common lesions and these affected predominantly the oral cavity (19 of 20; 95%), pinnae (16 of 20; 80%), axillae (15 of 20; 75%) and footpads (14 of 20; 70%). Histopathology identified neutrophilic perivascular dermatitis (17 of 17; 100%) without or with (12 of 17; 71%) eosinophils, which occasionally equalled (four cases) or outnumbered neutrophils (two cases). Subepidermal vesicles were either devoid of inflammation or contained neutrophils with or without eosinophils, fibrin and/or haemorrhage. A complete remission of skin lesions was obtained in 14 dogs with a median time of 58 days. Glucocorticoids were used in these dogs either as a monotherapy (3 of 14; 21%) or in combination with other immunomodulating drugs (11 of 14; 79%). The median dose of prednisone was 3 mg/kg/day. The remaining six dogs were euthanized. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Canine EBA is a rare subepidermal blistering disease with an inflammatory phenotype and a predilection for young great danes and male dogs. The outcome of treatment appears more favourable than assumed previously.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26369402/