Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of atopy.

Regarding the diagnosis of atopy, the emphasis in this article has been on how to use the initial history and physical examination findings to lead the clinician towards this diagnosis. After a systematic approach to the differential diagnosis of pruritus in the dog has been completed, the diagnosis of atopy can be further evaluated using one of the specific allergy tests available. The author's preference is the IDST to aid in the confirmation of the presence of atopy. Regarding the treatment of atopy, the emphasis in this article has been on the use of immunotherapy as the specific treatment for this disease. Careful monitoring of dogs on immunotherapy is essential to obtain optimum results, and response rates to treatment may be significantly improved by implementing various modifications in the standard hyposensitization protocol being used by the clinician.