Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Two dogs with rare skin disease pyoderma gangrenosum and treatment
By Simpson, Deborah L et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2013·Animal Dermatology Solutions, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine pyoderma gangrenosum: a case series of two dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with a rare skin condition called pyoderma gangrenosum, which caused painful ulcers on its skin. The dog was treated with a combination of medications, including prednisolone and azathioprine, which helped improve the skin lesions significantly. Another dog with the same condition was treated with prednisolone and ciclosporin but had a shorter recovery time. The second dog showed a better response to the azathioprine treatment, leading to a longer survival time.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare disease, which, to the best of the authors' knowledge, has been the subject of only one case report in the peer-reviewed veterinary literature. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To describe the history, clinical signs, diagnostic findings and treatment outcome in two cases of canine PG. ANIMALS: Two client-owned dogs presented to a private veterinary referral practice between 2008 and 2010 who received a diagnosis of PG by specialist veterinary dermatologists. METHODS: Medical records were analysed to retrieve relevant information. RESULTS: Both dogs were treated with prednisolone; this was combined with ciclosporin in case 1 and azathioprine in case 2. Case 2 had a more complete response of lesions to treatment and a longer survival time after diagnosis (763 days) than case 1 (81 days). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare disease distinguished by rapid progression of painful, necrolytic, cutaneous ulcers with irregular, violaceous undermined borders. Azathioprine with glucocorticoids may lead to a better outcome than ciclosporin and glucocorticoids (currently the first-line treatment in humans and the only reported treatment in dogs).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23931071/