The Role of Comorbidities in Pyoderma Among Canine and Feline Diabetic Patients

Pyoderma is considered a secondary complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), yet the relationship remains unclear. One study found 22% of diabetic dogs with dermatopathy had no other comorbidities while cats have not been evaluated.

This study evaluated the association of DM and pyoderma in dogs and cats by identifying comorbidities.

This retrospective study analysed canine and feline DM cases from August 2019 to November 2022 at Iowa State University and Colorado State University. We analysed cytologically confirmed pyoderma and assessed the prevalence of comorbidities, including allergies, thyroid and adrenal disease, neoplasia and other dermatological disorders.

Pyoderma was prevalent in 7.6% (61 of 805) dogs and 4.0% (15 of 372) cats with concurrent DM. Of 61 dogs, two (3.3%) lacked comorbidities which was considered protective (odds ratio [OR] = 0.06; 95% CI 0.01-0.29; p < 0.001). Allergic dermatitis was the most common comorbidity (70.5%) in dogs with increased odds (OR = 9.15; 95% CI 4.25-19.72; p < 0.001). Among 15 cats, one (6.7%) lacked comorbidities (OR = 0.04; 95% CI 0.01-0.34; p = 0.003), while allergic dermatitis appeared most frequent and increased odds (73.3%; OR = 18.67; 95% CI 4.81-72.44; p < 0.001). West Highland white terriers (OR = 4.59; 95% CI 1.43-14.77; p = 0.011) and domestic medium hair cats (OR = 7.31; 95% Cl 1.05-50.68; p = 0.044) had increased odds of pyoderma.

This study suggests that pyoderma in DM cats and dogs is uncommon as pyoderma owing to DM alone being seen in only 0.25% of dogs and 0.27% of cats.