Topical 0.1% tacrolimus was used for treatment of localized lesions associated with 10 cases of discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and two cases of pemphigus erythematosus (PE) either as a sole therapy (n=2) or as an adjunctive treatment (n=10). Eight of 10 dogs with DLE and both dogs with PE were improved following 8 weeks of topical application. In six of the eight dogs that improved, other medications were discontinued. No adverse effects in clinical or laboratory parameters were noted throughout the study.

BackgroundWearable technology is an exciting new field in humans and animals. In dogs activity monitors have helped to provide objective measurement tools where pet owner observation had been the only source of information. Previous research has focused on measuring overall activity versus rest. This has been relatively useful in determining changes in activity in orthopedic disease or post-surgical cases [Malek et al., BMC Vet Res 8:185, 2012, Yashari et al., BMC Vet Res 11:146, 2015]. Assessment of pruritus via changes in activity, however, requires an assumption that increased activity is due to scratching or other pruritic behaviors. This is an inaccurate method with obvious flaws as other behaviors may also register as greater activity. The objective of this study was to validate the ability of a multidimensional high frequency sensor and advanced computer analysis system, (Vetrax®, AgLogica Holdings, Inc., Norcross, GA, USA) to specifically identify pruritic behaviors (scratching and head shaking). To establish differences between behaviors, sensor and time stamped video data were collected from 361 normal and pruritic dogs. Video annotations were made by two observers independently, while blinded to sensor data, and then evaluated for agreement. Annotations that agreed between the two were used for further analysis. The annotations specified behaviors at specific times in order to compare with sensor data. A computer algorithm was developed to interpret and differentiate between these behaviors. Test subject data was then utilized to test and score the system’s ability to accurately predict behaviors.ResultsResults for prediction of head shaking behavior included sensitivity and specificity of 72.16% and 99.78% respectively. Analysis of scratching produced sensitivity and specificity of 76.85% and 99.73% respectively. These results illustrate the ability of the system to accurately report both scratching and head shaking with an overall accuracy of 99.24% and 99.56% respectively.ConclusionsThis study validates the use of this system to accurately and objectively report scratching and head shaking in dogs. While a small portion of scratching or head shaking behaviors may be missed, as indicated by the sensitivity, when detected, the confidence that these behaviors occurred is extremely high. These factors make this system a very useful tool for objective assessment of pruritus in clinical and research settings.

Skin lesions of discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and pemphigus erythematosus (PE) are often localized to the nasal planum, dorsal muzzle and less commonly, pinnae, periocular skin and lips. The objective of this study was to explore the use of 0.1% tacrolimus as a topical therapy in the management of localized DLE and PE lesions in dogs. Ten cases of DLE and two cases of PE in various breeds were included. Degree of erythema, crust, ulceration or erosion, depigmentation and scarring were evaluated at the start of the trial and after 2, 4 and 8 weeks of therapy. Complete blood count, serum chemistry and whole blood tacrolimus concentrations (Abbot IMx Microparticle Immunoassay; Abbot IMx, Chicago, IL, USA) were performed at each evaluation. Ten cases of DLE and two cases of PE were treated using the lotion either as a sole therapy (both DLE) or as an adjunctive treatment (eight DLE and two PE). Five of the cases evaluated had an excellent response (three DLE and two PE), five a partial response (all DLE), and two dogs (both DLE) showed no appreciable difference after receiving topical tacrolimus therapy. Concurrent medications were discontinued in eight of the ten dogs that improved. No adverse effects in clinical or laboratory parameters were noted throughout the study. However, measurement of tacrolimus concentrations by the MEIA assay was of little benefit due to false‐positive measurements. Results of this study indicate that topical 0.1% tacrolimus may be a safe and effective adjunctive therapy for DLE and PE, with fewer systemic and topical adverse effects than current treatment modalities.

This study revealed that clients believe antihistamines can be a useful part of multimodal therapy for canine atopic dermatitis. The results also demonstrated that a significant number of canines benefited from dietary modification. In addition, allergen-specific immunotherapy was the only treatment to induce true clinical remission of atopic dermatitis.

Background -Anecdotally, amikacin has been added to compounded topical preparations for the management of canine bacterial otitis externa. However, the stability of amikacin within these solutions is unknown.Hypothesis/Objectives -The purpose of this study was to determine the stability of amikacin at 10 and 30 mg/ mL concentrations in four topical solutions over a 56 day period. We hypothesised that amikacin would maintain chemical stability within the various solutions.Methods and materials -Amikacin was formulated to 10 and 30 mg/mL (1% and 3%) concentrations within four topical solutions: tris-EDTA (TrizEDTA Aqueous Flush) (TE); 0.15% chlorhexidine gluconate and tris-EDTA (TrizCHLOR Flush) (TC); 0.9% NaCl (NA); and 0.9% NaCl + 2 mg/mL dexamethasone (ND). Samples were made in duplicate and stored at room temperature (25°C) for 0, 7,14, 21, 28 and 56 days. Amikacin content was quantified, in triplicate, by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.Results -The recovered amikacin concentrations for the 10 mg/mL solutions ranged from 10 to 13.5 mg/mL (mean 11.5 mg/mL) with the exception of NA sample 2 at Day (D)0 (9.4 mg/mL) and D7 (9.2 mg/mL). The recovered amikacin concentrations for the 30 mg/mL solutions ranged from 30 to 40.2 mg/mL (mean 35.7 mg/mL). No significant difference was seen between the amikacin concentrations at D0 compared to D56 for all solutions except 10 mg/mL TE (P < 0.001).Conclusions and clinical relevance -Amikacin maintained stability within TE, TC, NA and ND over 56 days except when formulated at 10 mg/mL within TE.