PubMed:33275300 JSONTXT

{"target":"https://pubannotation.org/docs/sourcedb/PubMed/sourceid/33275300","sourcedb":"PubMed","sourceid":"33275300","source_url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33275300","text":"A survey of primary care practitioners' referral habits and recommendations of allergen-specific immunotherapy for canine and feline patients with atopic dermatitis.\nBACKGROUND: A recent pilot study of primary care veterinarians' attitudes regarding canine atopic dermatitis and initiation of allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) revealed several barriers to specialist referral (in the USA) and use of ASIT as a treatment modality.\nHYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to collect data on referral habits and ASIT practices among a much larger cohort of primary care veterinarians located around the world, and to explore barriers to referral and management of atopic diseases of dogs and cats with ASIT.\nMETHODS AND MATERIALS: An online survey, administered through the Veterinary Information Network (VIN, Davis, CA, USA), asked participants to self-report their referral habits and immunotherapy recommendations, and rate barriers and motivating factors using Likert-scale responses.\nRESULTS: Of 827 survey responses, 97.6% identified as primary care practitioners. A larger number of practitioners (84.5%) reported seeing atopic dogs often, compared with atopic cats (9.7%). Fewer of these veterinarians (56.6%) referred atopic cats for specialist care, compared to atopic dogs (73.5%). Timely communication, sharing long-term management of the case, and provision of local continuing education were identified as factors associated with increased willingness to refer. A higher proportion of practitioners reported recommending ASIT for dogs (44.3%) than for cats (16.0%). Only 56.0% of respondents considered success rates of ASIT to be acceptable, while 27.9% were neutral on the topic.\nCONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dermatology specialists might build stronger relationships with referring veterinarians through timely case follow-up and provision of continuing education regarding the long-term benefits of ASIT and symptomatic management practices.","tracks":[]}