Evaluation of Azathioprine on Lesion Severity and Lymphocyte Blastogenesis in Dogs With Perianal Fistulas

Abstract

Fourteen dogs with perianal fistulas were entered into a prospective clinical study to investigate the effects of long-term azathioprine on clinical outcome and to determine if the clinical results correlated with lymphocyte blastogenesis tests. Complete remission of perianal fistulas was seen in eight (57%) of 14 dogs; partial remission occurred in one (7%) dog; and no response was detected in five (36%) dogs. The results of lymphocyte blastogenesis assays did not correlate with therapeutic response.

Use of mycophenolate mofetil to treat immune‐mediated skin disease in 14 dogs – a retrospective evaluation

“…This result is similar to that in a report in the human literature where time to clinical improvement ranged from 3 to 6 weeks . Remission in dogs with dermatological diseases treated with azathioprine has been reported to be between 3 and 8 weeks, indicating a similar time to effect with MMF . The cases represented in the present study were all dogs that were refractory to immunosuppressive doses of steroids as a monotherapy and, therefore, may represent a subset of patients with severe or unmanageable disease.…”

“…No current reports exist describing the use of MMF to treat perianal fistula; however, azathioprine has been used to treat this disease with variable success. One study utilizing azathioprine as a first‐line treatment reported full remission in eight of 13 cases; however, bone marrow suppression was encountered frequently ( n = 5) and was a limiting factor for treatment in some cases ( n = 3) . As MMF has a similar mechanism of action, but a lower tendency to suppress bone marrow, further studies evaluating MMF as a treatment for perianal fistula are warranted.…”

Inflammatory bowel disease versus chronic enteropathy in dogs: are they one and the same?

“…2002 ). A prospective study performed in 13 German shepherd dogs and one Border collie with perianal fistulas, using a combination of diet, prednisolone and azathioprine, showed that 57% had complete remission after 16 weeks (Harkin et al . 2007 ).…”

Immunsuppressive Therapie bei Hunden und Katzen. Eigenschaften von Wirkstoffen und ihre Anwendung bei verschiedenen immunvermittelten Erkrankungen

“…Azathioprin könnte unter Umständen eine kostengünstigere Variante zur Behandlung von Analfissuren darstellen. Die Behandlung führte zu einer Reduktion der Analfissuren, nicht jedoch zu der durch Ciclosporin erreichten Remissionsrate (48).…”