My dog has lupus symptoms. Will a skin biopsy confirm the diagnosis?

For lupus, the typical treatment involves suppressing the immune system with steroids or other immunosuppressant drugs in addition to vitamins, antibiotics and topical therapy. It would be best to discuss further options with the diagnosing veterinarian or seek a specialists advice with a veterinary dermatologist for further recommendations on treatment. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions / concerns and I would be happy to help!

There are quite a few things this could be: * nasal hyperkeratosis * discoid lupus erythematosus, * bacterial dermatitis/mucocutaneous pyoderma * pemphigus complex * solar dermatitis * hereditary parakeratotic hyperkeratosis * uveodermatologic syndrome * cutaneous lymphoma (mycosis fungoides or epitheliotropic lymphoma) * squamous cell carcinoma Because a wide variety of diseases may present with similar clinical signs, the most helpful diagnostic test is a skin biopsy. So, I suggest you work with your vet to get the biopsy done. That is the only way you will know how to treat it.

Based on previous diagnostics I would proceed with a biopsy ( a larger sample) as well as a culture and sensitivity. If there is growth on the sample, I would proceed with a longer duration of antibiotics as indicated. It may be worthwhile in the interim to start a low dose of steroids to reduce any inflammatory/allergic response, but I would only start after collecting a good biopsy and culture. This could be an infection, but it is also possible that it is a type of neoplasia like lymphoma or mast cell and a larger sample is likely needed to determine.

Unfortunately, the only way to determine what some skin lesions are is to take a biopsy sample and have a pathologist evaluate it under the microscope. So, that is the only way that you will have an answer. There may or may not be any treatment that will improve it, but that way you will know what it is. The only other thing that I would ask your veterinarian is if Wish received his Rabies vaccination at that location. I have had a couple of dogs have similar skin problems after a Rabies vaccination. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'd have to say that this doesn't really look like pemphigus to me at all, but regardless, it's not a diagnose that can be made just by looking at the lesions, they have to be biopsied. It's also quite rare, so I would want to rule out other problems, like mange, ringworm, fleas, and allergies. If she's losing weight she may have an internal problem, and blood work will help to figure out what that is.

I would also suspect an autoimmune disease like systemic lupus erythematosis with what you are describing. These are terrible diseases that are often difficult to treat. It appears that Roxy's current treatment is not very effective, so I would recommend scheduling a recheck exam with your vet. There are stronger medications that can be given. I would also want to ensure the disease is accurately diagnosed. This usually requires that a skin biopsy be done and sent to the laboratory for analysis. If this has not been done, then I would ask your vet about it. It's not unheard of for a case to be treated for autoimmune disease when the actual diagnosis was something different (i.e. skin cancer, mite infestation), so it's important to have a biopsy and histopathology (lab analysis) done. For more information about the suspected condition and autoimmune diseases, I recommend you read the short articles at the links below. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/systemic-lupus-erythematosis-sle-in-dogs https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/autoimmune-skin-disease-in-dogs I hope that helps and poor Roxy gets better soon.

The mainstay of therapy for discoid lupus is immunosuppressive therapies such as prednisone or cyclosporine. Topical therapies are also sometimes added. Vitamin E can be useful too but other than that there are no special foods/diets that are indicated.