Tepoxalin reduces pruritus and modified CADESI-01 scores in dogs with atopic dermatitis: a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, cross-over study

Thirty dogs with atopic dermatitis were given tepoxalin (Zubrin (R), Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Boxmeer, the Netherlands) or placebo once daily for 4 weeks, followed by a wash-out period of 1 week before reversing the treatments. Pruritus was scored by the owners using the Edinburgh Pruritus Scale and one investigator employed a modification of the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index-01 (mCADESI-01) to score the physical lesions. After administration of tepoxalin there was a >= 50% reduction in pruritus and mCADESI-01 scores in 36% and 25% of the dogs, respectively, whereas following administration of the placebo there was a >= 50% reduction in pruritus and mCADESI-01 scores in only 25% and 16% of the dogs, respectively. Analysis of pooled data indicated that tepoxalin resulted in a significant reduction in pruritus (P = 0.012) and mCADESI-01 (P = 0.002) scores but there was no significant change after placebo. The median pruritus scores before and after tepoxalin were 2 (range 1-5) and 1 (range 0-5), respectively, and before and after placebo were 2 (range 0-4) and 2 (range 0-4), respectively. The median mCADESI scores before and after tepoxalin were 23 (range 0-68) and 16 (range 0-72), respectively, and before and after placebo were 18 (range 3-79) and 24 (range 0-65), respectively. At the dose used in this study (10.0-19.1 mg kg(-1)), tepoxalin was well-tolerated and no adverse effects were noted.