In this episode, host Alyssa Watson, DVM, talks with Ashley Detwiler, DVM, DACVD, about her recent Clinician’s Brief article, “Recurring Pruritic Skin Lesions in an English Bulldog.” Dr. Detwiler explores the overlapping symptoms and findings of various skin diseases in dogs, using the severely affected patient discussed in her article, and explains why even answers from biopsies sometimes need to be questioned. Then, she dives into a thorough discussion on pemphigus foliaceus, which is an autoimmune skin disease that you may very well encounter.
Key Takeaways
There can be significant overlap of symptoms between common conditions like pyoderma or allergies and uncommon autoimmune conditions.
Do not clean or scrub skin biopsy sites and use an 8 mm Punch if at all able; try not to go smaller than 6 mm.
Communicate your clinical and in-house cytology findings to the pathologist when you submit your biopsies—they’re more important than you think.
Pemphigus foliaceus involves autoimmune destruction of the connections between keratinocytes, which produces detached or acantholytic keratinocytes.
Steroids are the primary agent for achieving remission, with secondary agents including azathioprine, modified cyclosporine, mycophenolate, and oclacitinib.
Contact us:
Podcast@briefmedia.com
Where to find us:
Twitter: @cliniciansbrief
Instagram: @clinicians.brief
The Team:
Alyssa Watson, DVM - Host
Alexis Ussery - Producer & Multimedia Specialist