Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Differences between dog skin fungus and superficial pemphigus
By Peters, Jeanine et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2007·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparative analysis of canine dermatophytosis and superficial pemphigus for the prevalence of dermatophytes and acantholytic keratinocytes: a histopathological and clinical retrospective study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with skin issues was diagnosed with a rare condition called acantholytic dermatophytosis, which can look similar to another skin disease called superficial pemphigus. In a study of skin samples from dogs, researchers found that while dermatophytes (fungus) were present in cases of dermatophytosis, they were not found in any cases of superficial pemphigus. The study showed that only a small percentage of the dermatophytosis cases had acantholytic keratinocytes, which are cells that can indicate skin disease, but these dogs did not show signs of superficial pemphigus. This suggests that while the two conditions can appear alike, they are distinct and require different approaches for diagnosis and treatment.
People also search for: dog skin problems · acantholytic dermatophytosis treatment · superficial pemphigus in dogs · dog skin biopsy results
Abstract
Acantholytic dermatophytosis is a rarely reported condition of dogs that clinically and histopathologically mimics superficial pemphigus (erythematosus, foliaceus). Histologically, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Grocott's methenamine-silver (GMS) are often necessary to show the fungus. A retrospective histopathological study was conducted on 190 canine skin biopsy specimens: 95 each with the diagnosis of canine dermatophytosis or of superficial pemphigus. All specimens were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, PAS, and GMS. Dermatophytes were not seen in any superficial pemphigus cases. Acantholytic keratinocytes were noted in 14% of the dermatophytosis cases, none of which had clinical signs consistent with superficial pemphigus. Among cases with acantholytic keratinocytes, superficial pemphigus had significantly more acantholytic cells than dermatophytosis (P = 0.02). When comparing face and nonface cases, there was no difference in prevalence of acantholytic keratinocytes in dermatophytosis or number of acantholytic keratinocytes in superficial pemphigus. All dermatophyte cases were both GMS and PAS positive with neither stain being visually superior. No dermatophyte cases where acantholytic keratinocytes were noted had a history, clinical signs and histopathological features compatible with acantholytic dermatophytosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17610488/