Successful Treatment of Canine Sporotrichosis with Terbinafine: Case Reports and Literature Review

Abstract

Sporotrichosis occurs worldwide, and the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a main endemic area, with a large number of human and animal cases in the last 19 years. This mycosis is more frequently described in cats rather than in dogs. There are a limited number of oral antifungal agents for the treatment of sporotrichosis in animals. In this context, the effectiveness of terbinafine in the treatment of sporotrichosis in humans, as well as the promising results of in vitro susceptibility tests, inspired us to use this drug in the therapy of this mycosis in dogs. We reported for the first time the use of terbinafine in the treatment of two dogs with sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis. Moreover, we provided an overview of therapeutic features of canine sporotrichosis cases reported since the 1960s. One of the dogs presented the fixed cutaneous form of the disease, while the other patient presented hyperemia of the nasal mucosa and respiratory signs only. Terbinafine showed high antifungal activity in vitro against the canine Sporothrix isolates. The dogs were successfully treated with terbinafine, with remission of all clinical signs initially presented. The current reports indicate that this drug can emerge as a therapeutic option for canine sporotrichosis.

Guideline for the management of feline sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis and literature revision

“…The potential of terbinafine for the treatment of sporotrichosis has been confirmed in human patients [121,122], but its effectiveness in the treatment of animal sporotrichosis is unknown, so far. Recently, the successful use of terbinafine in the treatment of two dogs with sporotrichosis caused by S. brasiliensis was reported [123].…”

Feline sporotrichosis in Asia

“…Itraconazole at 5-10 mg/kg has been used successfully to treat feline sporotrichosis, with maximum plasma concentration of 0.7 ± 0.14 mg/L achieved with a 5-mg/kg oral dosing in the cat [43]. Table 1 [3,7,8,[44][45][46][47][48][49]. When compared between species, it would suggest that S. brasiliensis and S. s. sensu stricto are more susceptible to itraconazole and ketoconazole, whereas S. globosa, S. luriei and S. pallida display low susceptibility towards these antifungal agents.…”

“…It is currently recognized as a species complex consisting of Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto, Sporothrix globosa and Sporothrix luriei, united on the fact that they are all able to express increased virulence towards mammals (clinical clade), compared with mildly pathogenic species such as Sporothrix mexicana and Sporothrix pallida that is commonly associated with the environment (environmental clade) [1]. In veterinary medicine, S. brasiliensis, S. s. sensu stricto, S. globosa and S. pallida have been documented to cause of disease in cats, while only S. brasiliensis has been incriminated to cause clinical sporotrichosis in dogs [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The disease is historically referred to as 'Rose Gardeners disease', as the most common route of infection is often traced to the inoculation of conidia into broken skin via contaminated soil or plants during horticultural activities.…”

Esporotricose, O Gato E a Comunidade

“…O itraconazol permanece como o fármaco de escolha para o tratamento da esporotricose felina, e sua efetividade como monoterapia já foi descrita (SCHUBACH et al, 2004;CROTHERS et al, 2009;MADRI et al, 2010;PEREIRA et al, 2010;ROSSI et al, 2013;DE MIRANDA et al, 2018;SOUZA et al, 2018).…”