Dermatology: New Insights for Managing Persistent Skin Problems

a. Teaching objectives:

• Understand the new definition of atopic dermatitis – is it inhalant?

• The cycle of itch has evolved and is not what we thought 10 years ago – mast cells and IgE have been replaced by cytokines and chemokines

• Immune dysregulation in the skin in allergic dermatitis – T cells are the key players in allergic dermatitis.

• How do skin barrier defects and the skin microbiome potentiate allergic dermatitis

b. What participants will learn:

• How we categorize allergic dermatoses will impact our diagnostic and therapeutic approach

• A new understanding of itch opens up new targets for therapy – how this helps each patient

• How to correct the abnormal immune responses with targeted therapies

• Barrier repair – what can you expect and does it work?

a. Teaching objectives:

• Understand the main causes of itch in dogs – sorting through the many possibilities, keeping your eye on the very common

• How to prioritize the workup so that the dog is comfortable and we achieve a diagnostic workup – understanding how a workup is not an option

• Being grounded in a logical approach provides the best opportunity for determining the factors contributing to itch in each patient – taking care of common and manageable conditions first

• Parasite control, resolution of infections and food trials are crucial elements in the workup

b. What participants will learn:

• Diagnosis begins with relief – how to provide itch relief that does not get in the way of a workup

• Prioritization of differential diagnoses based on pattern recognition and a thorough history

• Parasites like fleas and Sarcoptes remain significant causes of itch – how not to miss these easy fixes

• Food trials – key tips to get more owners to complete them

a. Teaching objectives:

• Atopic dermatitis is a forever disease and no cure is possible

• Setting correct expectations for owners to prevent disappointment

• There are several effective therapies – which is right for each patient

b. What participants will learn:

• What to communicate with owners to partner with them for the best possible outcomes

• Finding an anchor treatment first and then layer on supplemental therapies

• Being prepared for and managing the inevitable flares that will occur.

a. Teaching objectives:

• How to recognize the differences between surface, superficial and deep pyoderma

• Becoming familiar with the different techniques used for cytological assessment of infection of the skin

• Becoming familiar with different techniques for skin bacterial culture

• Decision-making for pyoderma and the importance of both topical and systemic antimicrobials

b. What participants will learn:

• When and how to do skin cytology and how to interpret the results?

• When and how to perform a bacterial culture of the skin and how to interpret results?

• Insights for bathing and use of topical antimicrobials

• Which antibiotics have the best evidence for efficacy in pyoderma and how long should you be treating?

a. Teaching objectives:

• There are unusual and visually frightening patients with skin disease.

• Understand the principles of pattern recognition

• How routine bedside diagnostics are still critical in every derm patient

b. What participants will learn:

• Latest insights for the diagnosis and management of less common skin problems like papilloma and vasculopathies

• Demodicosis in cats is different from the disease in dogs – clinical clues and management

• Pseudomonal pyoderma in dogs – totally different from staphylococcal pyoderma, and curable