Clinical efficacy of oclacitinib and lokivetmab in dogs with canine atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is a genetically predisposed inflammatory and pruritic skin disease presenting characteristic clinical features in dogs. Despite oclacitinib and lokivetmab being commonly used, no study has compared their efficacies in CAD. This study aimed to compare the efficacy, safety, and control of CAD-associated pruritus and skin lesions between oclacitinib and lokivet-mab. It also investigated whether switching to lokivetmab from oclacitinib or pred-nisolone had any benefits. Twenty-five client-owned dogs, newly diagnosed with CAD, were allocated to the oclacitinib (n = 20) and lokivetmab (n = 5) groups and administered oclacitinib (0.4-0.6 mg/kg orally, twice daily for 14 days, then once daily) and lokivetmab (2 mg/kg subcutaneously, every month) for 8 weeks, respec-tively. The switching group included five dogs previously administered with oclac-itinib (n = 4) or prednisolone (n = 1) who were switched to lokivetmab directly at the start of the study. The pruritus visual analog scale (PVAS) and Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI-04) values were surveyed at weeks 0, 4, and 8. Oclacitinib and lokivetmab significantly reduced the PVAS and CADE-SI-04 scores. Switching from oclacitinib or prednisolone to lokivetmab maintained the severity of pruritus (4 weeks: p = 0.068; 8 weeks: p = 0.068) and dermatitis (4 weeks: p = 0.144; 8 weeks: p = 0.068) at the levels measured at baseline. Thus, both oclacitinib and lokivetmab reduced CAD-associated pruritus by a similar de-gree. Switching to lokivetmab maintained the severity of pruritus and dermatitis at the same level as the previous treatment.