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A retrospective study of cutaneous equine sarcoidosis and its potential infectious aetiological agents
Author(s) -
SPIEGEL IAN B.,
WHITE STEPHEN D.,
FOLEY JANET E.,
DRAZENOVICH NICOLE L.,
IHRKE PETER J.,
AFFOLTER VERENA K.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
veterinary dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1365-3164
pISSN - 0959-4493
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3164.2005.00494.x
Subject(s) - corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis , coccidioides immitis , medicine , etiology , sarcoidosis , cryptococcus neoformans , dermatology , pathology , cryptococcosis , coccidioides , biology , genetics , bacteria
Nine horses from ages 5 to 21 years were diagnosed with cutaneous equine sarcoidosis (ES) over an 18‐year period. In addition to skin, the lungs were frequently involved, with other organ systems affected less commonly. A predisposition for thoroughbreds and geldings was noted. Cutaneous lesions and signs included crusts, scales, alopecia and pruritus. These were found at various sites, particularly the legs/thighs/elbows, thorax, neck, face and ventral abdomen. Three horses were euthanized shortly after hospitalization; others survived as long as 12 years. Histopathologic stains, immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction assays on paraffin‐embedded cutaneous specimens from eight horses for Mycobacterium spp., Coccidioides immitis , Cryptococcus neoformans , Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis , and Borrelia burgdorferi were all negative. The aetiology of ES is unlikely microbial and continues to be a diagnosis of exclusion. ES, when limited to the skin, is associated with a good prognosis, with either partial or complete response to glucocorticoid therapy in all the surviving horses.