DERMATOLOGY
Article reprinted with the permission of Clinician’s Brief. The article was originally printed in August 2013 CB is published by Brief Media. CB is the official
publication of the NAVC. CB provides relevant diagnostic and treatment information for small animal practitioners. All rights reserved.
Canine Peri-oral
Dermatitis
Jennifer Schissler Pendergraft, DVM, MS, DACVD
Colorado State University
Profile
Definition
• Peri-oral dermatitis (PD) is inflammation of the
maxillary or mandibular cutaneous or mucocutaneous tissues.
• PD has diverse clinical presentations and causes
and may be noted as a singular clinical entity or
among generalized dermatologic or systemic
signs.
Systems
•
•
PD is not limited to lip fold intertrigo (ie, bacterial
and Malassezia spp overgrowth; (Figure 1); rather,
it is a potential manifestation of focal or generalised cutaneous conditions.
Conditions include hypersensitivities, immunemediated dermatopathy, infection, hepatopathy,
periodontal disease, and neoplasia.
Figure 1: Lip fold intertrigo in a dog
Signalment & Causes
Some causes have known breed and age associations.
Risk Factors
•
•
•
•
Redundant lip folds can predispose patients to
intertrigo.
Any primary cause of PD poses risk for secondary
bacterial or Malassezia spp infection.
Chronic use of topical or systemic glucocorticoids poses risk for demodicosis.
Sun exposure can pose a risk for pemphigus foliaceus and discoid lupus erythematosus (Figure 2).
Pathophysiology
•
•
•
Figure 2: Discoid lupus erythematosus in a dog
Cutaneous or mucocutaneous inflammation can
occur from causes that prompt erythema, pruritus, and primary lesions (eg, papules, pustules,
vesicles, bullae), followed by secondary lesions
(eg, erosions, ulcerations, crusts, alopecia).
The resulting skin barrier disruption predisposes
patients to secondary bacterial and Malassezia
spp overgrowth.
The micro-environment of a deep, redundant lip
Figure 3: Zinc-responsive dermatitis in a dog
•
•
fold predisposes patients to intertrigo.
Severe periodontal disease with ptyalism may
predispose to secondary perioral infection, particularly with deep lip folds.
Pruritus and malodour are common.
Issue 04 | JULY 2015 | 27