Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using dermoscopy to diagnose fungal skin infections in cats
By Dong, Charli et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2016·Animal Dermatology Clinic, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of dermoscopy in the diagnosis of naturally occurring dermatophytosis in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 67 cats showing signs of skin infections were tested for a fungal skin condition called dermatophytosis (ringworm). Researchers used a tool called dermoscopy to look for specific hair patterns associated with the infection, alongside traditional fungal cultures. They found that dermoscopy was able to identify infected hairs in 21 out of 36 cats that had a confirmed fungal infection. While dermoscopy can help in spotting potential infections, a complete diagnosis should still rely on clinical signs and multiple tests.
People also search for: cat skin infection treatment · how to diagnose ringworm in cats · cat dermatophytosis symptoms
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A rapid, accurate screening test for dermatophytosis in cats is desirable in clinical and shelter medicine. In human dermatology, dermoscopy is used to identify dermatophyte-infected hairs by their characteristic comma hair appearance. Similar "comma-like" hairs have been observed in infected cats. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of dermoscopy for the diagnosis of naturally occurring dermatophytosis compared to fungal culture. ANIMALS: A total of 67 cats were enrolled. METHODS: This was a descriptive field study. All cats were evaluated by dermoscopy and fungal culture. Dermoscopy was performed with a hand held nonpolarized light dermoscope. RESULTS: Three dermatophyte pathogens were isolated via fungal cultures in 36 cats: Microsporum canis (n = 31), Microsporum gypseum (n = 3) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (n = 2). Dermoscopy was positive in 21 of 36 cats with culture-confirmed dermatophytosis. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Dermoscopy may be a useful point-of care-test to identify infected hairs to sample for dermatophyte cultures, but a definitive diagnosis for dermatophytosis should be based on clinical signs and the results of multiple diagnostic tests.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27311364/