Canine atopic dermatitis in Greece: clinical observations and the prevalence of positive intradermal test reactions in 91 spontaneous cases

Atopic dermatitis was diagnosed in a total of 91 dogs by combining the comp atible historical evidence and clinical signs with the presence of one or m ore positive intradermal test reactions well correlated with the exposure t o the aeroallergens and the seasonality of the clinical signs. Compared to the general hospital population Yorkshire terriers, Chinese Shar-Peis and c ocker spaniels showed a strong predilection. No such predilection was found regarding the sex of the animals. The age of the dogs at the onset of the clinical signs ranged from 2 months to 8 years (median: 2.5 years). Moderat e to severe pruritus, noticed in all the 91 dogs, was either localized (29/ 91) or generalized (64/91) and non-seasonal (43/91), seasonal (19/91) or of unknown seasonality (29/91). The most common cutaneous lesions included er ythema, hyperpigmentation, hypotrichosis and crusts; their body distributio n was generalized (64%) or localized (36%) with the feet as the most common site of involvement. Five dogs that had unlesional skin were significantly younger and had been pruritic for a shorter period of time compared to the majority of our study population. Otitis externa (43/91) and bacterial pyo derma (30/91) were the most common conditions associated with atopic dermat itis, while the prevalence of Malassezia dermatitis was very low (2/91). Of the other allergic skin diseases flea allergic dermatitis was the most com mon (29/91) followed by food hypersensitivity (2 out of the 15 dogs tested) . The majority of the dogs demonstrated multiple sensitivities to the 50 ae roallergens tested, while domestic mites (77/91), and particularly Dermatop hagoides farinae (64/91), were the most commonly implicated. The total numb er of the positive intradermal test reactions was increasing parallel to th e age of the dogs but it was negatively associated with the presence of ski n lesions on the carpal and tarsal joints. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.