HYPOTHYROIDISM: A HIDDEN ENDOCRINE DISORDER

Sree Krishna Sai P., *Devadevi N. Vijayalakshmi, P. Abiramy, Prabavathy A., Rajkumar K. and Vijaylakshmi V.

ABSTRACT

Hypothyroidism is a hormonal disorder encountered mostly in middle aged dogs. In the present study, hypothyroidism was diagnosed in 26 out of 38 dogs were screened. Common clinical signs recorded were pruritus, chronic skin lesions, hyperpigmentation, generalized hairloss, failure of hair regrowth, bilateral symmetrical alopecia, rat tail appearance and obesity. Cases were diagnosed based on the clinical signs and thyroid profile (decreased T3, TT4 and FT4 level) and increased cholesterol values. Common secondary skin infections recorded in the present study were malassezia pachydermatitis, dermatophytosis, demodicosis, scabies and pyoderma. All the animals were successfully managed with levothyroxine along with specific therapy for secondary dermatological diseases.

Keywords: Hypothyroidism, levothyroxine, thyroid profile, canine.