Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How itching severity relates to visible redness in dogs
By Hill, Peter et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2010·Veterinary Specialist Centre, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Correlation between pruritus score and grossly visible erythema in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 107 dogs with skin problems were evaluated for itching (pruritus) and redness (erythema) on their skin. Most dogs had moderate itching scores, while redness scores varied widely, with many dogs showing little to no redness. Interestingly, the level of itching didn't always match the amount of redness, meaning a dog could be very itchy without much visible redness, or vice versa. This suggests that while both symptoms are related, they don't always occur together in a predictable way. Understanding this can help vets better assess and treat skin issues in dogs.
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Abstract
The severity of pruritus and the extent and severity of erythema were quantified in 107 dogs presenting with various dermatoses. Pruritus was assessed using a previously validated scale, and erythema was quantified by assessing severity at 72 different body sites. Pruritus scores were either 0, or followed a normal type of distribution, with most dogs having a score in the middle of the range and a few dogs having low or high scores. The median pruritus score was 6.3/10. Erythema scores were heavily skewed towards lower values, with only a few dogs having high scores. The median diffuse erythema score was 6.0/216 and the median score for maculo-papular/pustular erythema was 0/1080. Pruritus and erythema scores were significantly correlated with a Spearman rank correlation coefficient of 0.4062 (P<0.001). However, visual assessment of the data representing the two variables revealed that this was not a consistent biological or clinically relevant correlation. Individual dogs could have a high pruritus score with low erythema score or vice versa. This study raises questions about the use of erythema scoring systems as a primary outcome measure in clinical trials, and also about the role of various inflammatory mediators in the pathogenesis of canine pruritus.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20456720/