Diagnosis and management of canine atopic dermatitis (AD) is a major and common challenge in small animal practice. Recently, a new spot-on containing essential fatty acids and essential oils has been introduced for dogs in veterinary medicine. A series of five atopic dogs treated weekly with ATOP 7® spot-on for three consecutive months is reported. Clinical evaluation was done monthly. Owners were asked to score pruritus severity using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI)-04 was used to assess skin lesion severity. Five dogs with a median age of 11 years [2-13] and of various breeds (two West Highland white terriers, one Yorkshire terrier, one French bulldog and one Lhassa apso) were included. All five dogs had a mild initial CADESI-4 score (median 22 [10-27]). The previously prescribed baseline treatment of AD was maintained unchanged throughout the study. All dogs but one had improved after three months. The mean percentage reduction of pruritus compared to baseline was 38.8% [-54% – 95%]. The mean CADESI reduction was 44.4% [-13.6% – 81.8%]. The mean global satisfaction was 4/5 for owners and 3.4/5 for the investigator.
By enhancing skin hydration and microbial regulation, ATOP 7® spot-on can be an option to decrease pruritus and skin inflammation in mild to moderate canine AD. Further studies are necessary to confirm these results but this product could be used as an adjunctive treatment to treat and stabilize mild forms of AD particularly in elderly dogs, for which immunomodulatory drugs can be contra-indicated.
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