P‐67 Characteristics of the 10 most frequent feline skin disease conditions seen in the dermatology clinic at the National Veterinary School of Nantes

Abstract

Few studies have presented general epidemiologic data in veterinary dermatology. The aim of this study was to analyse feline dermatological cases seen at the National Veterinary School of Nantes. Animals presented to the clinics are systematically examined with a protocol that allows validation in a computerized system. Seventy prospective codified parameters are collected at each visit (habitat, nutrition, lesions and localisation, laboratory procedures, hypothesis/diagnosis). The final diagnosis in dermatology may combine several causes or diseases. The study included 783 cases seen from January 1992 to January 1997. The following results indicate the frequency of primary diagnosis and frequency of association or suspicion, respectively. The ten most frequent dermatoses were: flea infestations (24.1/33.3%), flea bite hypersensitivity (22.3/42.9%), dermatophytoses (9.9/26.2%), Otodectes (11.5/19%), food allergy (2.8/25.2%), miscellaneous hypersensitivities (2.8/10%), atopy (2.4/22.4%), miscellaneous external otitis (2.4/5.6%), superficial pyodermas (1.4/4.7%), and psychogenic alopecia (1.3/4.7%). In total, flea‐associated problems were identified as the primary cause in 46.5% of cases and hypothesized to be associated in 29% of other cases. Feline miliary dermatitis syndrome was seen in 158 cats (20.2%), feline eosinophilic granuloma complex in 76 cats (9.2%), and extensive alopecia in 58 cats (7.4%). Funding: Self‐funded.