Canine juvenile cellulitis – literature review and report of tow cases

Juvenile cellulitis (JC) is a rare skin disease of puppies. Its recognition is important, since spontaneous resolution is rare an untreated animals can die. It is probably an immune-mediated disorder, characterized by sudden onset of skin lesions on the face, ear and submandibular lymphadenomegaly. This article presents a literature review and two case reports of JC: a two-month-old female dachshund and a fifty-day male pointer, both with alopecia, edema, crusting, papules and pustules in the face, blepharitis, enlarged lymph nodes and genital edema. Treatment was based on the administration of prednisone and cephalexin. Soon after treatment onset, the dachshund began to present otitis and the pointer, tetraparesis and bacterial folliculitis. There was remission of signs three weeks and seven weeks after therapy onset, but scars remained. The recognition of the disease enables the use of immunosuppressants that, if instituted early, improve the prognosis.