Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Subcutaneous ciclosporin treatment for allergic cats in a pilot study
By Koch, Sandra N et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2018·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Subcutaneous administration of ciclosporin in 11 allergic cats - a pilot open-label uncontrolled clinical trial.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Eleven cats with allergic skin problems were treated with an injectable medication called ciclosporin instead of the usual oral form, which can be hard to give to cats. Over 60 days, the cats showed significant improvement in their skin condition and itching, with scores measuring their symptoms decreasing at both the 30-day and 60-day marks. Six of the cats completed the study, and the results suggest that subcutaneous ciclosporin could be a good option for cats that struggle with oral medications. More research is needed to confirm these findings, but this treatment could help many cats with skin allergies.
People also search for: cat skin allergy treatment · ciclosporin for cats · cat itching medication · feline dermatitis injection · allergic dermatitis in cats
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Oral ciclosporin has been reported to be efficacious for feline inflammatory skin diseases; however, cats are often difficult to medicate orally. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of subcutaneous ciclosporin administered to cats with allergic skin disease. ANIMALS: Eleven client-owned cats with nonseasonal clinical signs. METHODS: Prospective open label trial. Ciclosporin 50 mg/mL solution for injection (Sandimune®, Novartis; NJ, USA) was administered subcutaneously for 60 days with initial doses ranging from 2.5 mg/kg once daily (one cat) to every other day (five cats) and 5 mg/kg once daily (four cats) to every other day (one cat). Dosages were adjusted monthly if needed based on clinical response. Clinical response was assessed using a modified FeDESI (feline Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index) and PVAS (pruritus Visual Analog Scale) between days (D) 0, 30 and 60. RESULTS: Six cats completed the study and four of five cats withdrawn from the study were included in an intention-to-treat analysis. There was significant decrease in FeDESI and PVAS scores between D0 and D30, D0 and D60 and D30 and D60 (P < 0.05) in all ten cats. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ciclosporin administered subcutaneously at initial doses of 2.5-5 mg/kg, once daily to alternate days, appears to be an efficacious therapy for feline allergic dermatitis and may be an alternative therapy for cats that cannot be treated orally. Randomized and controlled long term studies which include a larger number of cats are needed to confirm these findings.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29068099/