Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Water loss from skin linked to atopic dermatitis severity in cats
By Szczepanik, Marcin P et al.·Published in Canadian journal of veterinary research = Revue canadienne de recherche veterinaire·2018·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Correlation between transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and severity of clinical symptoms in cats with atopic dermatitis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 18 European Shorthair cats with atopic dermatitis (a skin allergy) had their skin condition assessed using two scoring systems to measure the severity of their symptoms. Researchers found that higher levels of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which indicates how much moisture is escaping through the skin, were linked to more severe skin lesions in some areas, like the thorax and forelimbs. This suggests that measuring TEWL could help veterinarians evaluate the severity of skin problems in cats with atopic dermatitis, although it may not be as effective as in humans.
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to demonstrate whether there is a correlation between transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and the severity of skin lesions in cats with feline atopic dermatitis (AD). The severity of symptoms was determined by using 2 scoring systems for clinically assessing the skin lesions in cats: Scoring Feline Allergic Dermatitis (SCORFAD) and Feline Extent and Severity Index (FeDESI). Such a correlation between TEWL and systems for clinically evaluating symptoms has already been shown in humans and dogs. Measurements were taken in 18 European Shorthair cats: 11 females and 7 males. Scores were calculated using SCORFAD and FeDESI and TEWL was measured in 7 areas of the body. Correlations were calculated between SCORFAD and TEWL and between FeDESI and TEWL for each body region and the average TEWL was also calculated with each system. Positive correlations were found between SCORFAD and TEWL in 3 of the examined areas: thorax (= 0.44,= 0.02); axilla (= 0.39,= 0.04); and forelimb (= 0.55,= 0.02). A correlation was also found between the average TEWL and SCORFAD (= 0.41,= 0.03). In the case of FeDESI, a correlation was found in the forelimb (= 0.53,= 0.02), but no correlation was found between FeDESI and the average TEWL. The results obtained showed that TEWL can be used as an additional tool in clinically assessing atopic dermatitis in cats, although it seems to be less useful in cats than in humans.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30363310/