Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Calcineurin inhibitor treatment for dogs with vesicular cutaneous
By Banovic, Frane et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2017·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Therapeutic effectiveness of calcineurin inhibitors in canine vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus (VCLE), which caused painful skin lesions in areas like the groin and abdomen. The dog was treated with a combination of oral glucocorticoids and ciclosporin, a type of calcineurin inhibitor, along with topical treatments. Most dogs in the study showed significant improvement, with complete remission of symptoms occurring within 35 to 70 days. While some dogs experienced relapses when medications were reduced, those who continued treatment with ciclosporin or topical medications maintained their improvement for nearly three years.
People also search for: dog skin lesions treatment · vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus in dogs · ciclosporin for dog skin problems
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Oral and topical calcineurin inhibitors (CIs) have been reported to lead to complete lesion remission in several dogs with vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus (VCLE). OBJECTIVES: To report retrospectively on the effectiveness and adverse effects of systemic (ciclosporin) and/or topical (tacrolimus/pimecrolimus) CIs in 11 dogs with VCLE. METHODS: Inclusion criteria were: (i) presence of characteristic annular, polycyclic or serpiginous ulcerations distributed over the groin, axillae and/or ventral abdomen; (ii) a histopathological diagnosis of VCLE (i.e. a lymphocyte-rich interface dermatitis with vesiculation); (iii) treatment that included CIs for at least eight weeks; and (iv) follow-up until death/euthanasia or for a minimum of 12 months post-diagnosis. RESULTS: Initial therapy included the avoidance of excessive sun exposure, oral glucocorticoids [six of 11 dogs (55%); progressively tapered over a month] and once daily ciclosporin [11 dogs (100%); median 5.8 mg/kg]. A complete remission (CR) of signs occurred between days 35 and 70 after starting CIs in eight dogs (73%); increasing ciclosporin dosage and adding topical tacrolimus induced a CR in two additional dogs (18%). Relapses were common when doses were tapered or discontinued. With the exception of three dogs that were euthanized, clinical signs were maintained in CR with oral ciclosporin (eight of eight dogs treated, 100%) or topical tacrolimus/pimecrolimus (four of eight dogs; 50%) with a median follow-up of 2.9 years. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: These observations support CIs as the preferable therapeutic alternatives to long-term immunosuppression with oral glucocorticoids in dogs with VCLE.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28439997/