Subcutaneous administration of ciclosporin in 11 allergic cats - a pilot open-label uncontrolled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Oral ciclosporin has been reported to be efficacious for feline inflammatory skin diseases; however, cats are often difficult to medicate orally.

HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of subcutaneous ciclosporin administered to cats with allergic skin disease.

ANIMALS: Eleven client-owned cats with nonseasonal clinical signs.

METHODS: Prospective open label trial. Ciclosporin 50 mg/mL solution for injection (Sandimune®, Novartis; NJ, USA) was administered subcutaneously for 60 days with initial doses ranging from 2.5 mg/kg once daily (one cat) to every other day (five cats) and 5 mg/kg once daily (four cats) to every other day (one cat). Dosages were adjusted monthly if needed based on clinical response. Clinical response was assessed using a modified FeDESI (feline Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index) and PVAS (pruritus Visual Analog Scale) between days (D) 0, 30 and 60.

RESULTS: Six cats completed the study and four of five cats withdrawn from the study were included in an intention-to-treat analysis. There was significant decrease in FeDESI and PVAS scores between D0 and D30, D0 and D60 and D30 and D60 (P < 0.05) in all ten cats.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ciclosporin administered subcutaneously at initial doses of 2.5-5 mg/kg, once daily to alternate days, appears to be an efficacious therapy for feline allergic dermatitis and may be an alternative therapy for cats that cannot be treated orally. Randomized and controlled long term studies which include a larger number of cats are needed to confirm these findings.