1. Comparison of three clinical scoring systems for Culicoides hypersensitivity in a herd of Icelandic horses.
- Author
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Miller JE, Mann S, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A, and Wagner B
- Subjects
- Animals, Dermatitis, Atopic diagnosis, Female, Horse Diseases immunology, Horses immunology, Hypersensitivity diagnosis, Iceland, Immunoglobulin E, Insect Bites and Stings, Ceratopogonidae immunology, Dermatitis, Atopic veterinary, Horse Diseases diagnosis, Hypersensitivity veterinary
- Abstract
Background: Culicoides hypersensitivity (CH), an intensely pruritic and seasonal allergic dermatitis, is a common allergic disease affecting horses worldwide. Currently, there is no validated clinical scoring system for the quantification of clinical signs associated with CH., Objectives: To (i) determine the best cut-off point of three scoring systems, (ii) test the accuracy of each system when compared to the clinical diagnosis of an experienced veterinarian and (iii) assess agreement between systems., Animals: Icelandic horses (n = 20); eight with CH and 12 unaffected, from a research herd receiving no treatments for allergic dermatitis., Methods and Materials: Lesion scores were recorded biweekly from April until September with three clinical scoring systems (A, B and C) by a single observer initially blinded to CH status. Separate logistic regression analyses for each time point were used to determine appropriate cut-offs for CH classification. Spearman's rho and Cohen's kappa were calculated to analyze correlation of scores and agreement of CH categorization between systems, respectively., Results: The best allergic cut-off scores for system A, B and C were determined to be three, eight and 12, respectively. For each system median areas under the curve (>0.85) were excellent and discriminatory ability for correctly classifying CH status was strong. Excellent correlation between scores for each system (Spearman's rho > 0.96) and excellent intersystem agreement for CH categorization (kappa ≥ 0.73) were found across scoring time points., Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Results support the use of these scoring systems as templates for the future standardization of a CH clinical scoring system., (© 2019 ESVD and ACVD.)
- Published
- 2019
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