Elgalfy Gehad E, Ghanem Mohamed M, Helal Mahmoud A Y, El-Khaiat Heba M
Animal Medicine Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Po Box: 13736, Moshtohor, Toukh, Egypt.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 May 9;21(1):332. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04746-4.
Hypothyroidism is one of the most common endocrine disorders in dogs, that is caused by reduction in thyroxine hormone production.
This study aimed to detect the incidence of clinical hypothyroidism among cases suffering from dermatological changes or obesity, investigate the complications in severely affected hypothyroid dogs and evaluate the response to levothyroxine treatment.
Total number of 212 dogs of different ages, breeds and of both sexes were included in this study, where 200 dogs were suffering from alopecia or obesity, the other 12 healthy dogs were used as control group.
After ruling out other causes of alopecia and obesity, hypothyroidism was diagnosed in 28 dogs (14%) depending on the result of thyroid function test. Results of this study showed that the highest incidence of hypothyroidism was reported in Golden retriever (21.42%) followed by Griffon dogs (17.85%). Additionally, hypothyroidism was mostly reported in middle-aged dogs (60.71%) of different breeds. Males (57.14%) revealed higher incidence than females. The hypothyroid dogs showed a wide range of clinical signs including dermatological, metabolic, psychological alterations in addition to cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, gastrointestinal and gynecological abnormalities. Radiography revealed pulmonary edema in dogs affected with heart problems (N = 2), dilated esophagus in hypothyroid dogs showing vomiting (N = 2). Echocardiographic examination of hypothyroid dogs with heart problems revealed first grade diastolic dysfunction. Treatment with levothyroxine induced clinical improvement within one month of administration.
Hypothyroidism is a relatively common condition in dogs compared to other diseases causing dermatological changes or obesity in dogs. Therefore, it must be considered for early diagnosis and treatment before encountering complications that could be life threatening for dogs.
甲状腺功能减退是犬类最常见的内分泌疾病之一，由甲状腺素分泌减少引起。
本研究旨在检测患有皮肤病变或肥胖症的犬只中临床甲状腺功能减退的发生率，调查严重甲状腺功能减退犬只的并发症，并评估左甲状腺素治疗的反应。
本研究纳入了212只不同年龄、品种和性别的犬只，其中200只患有脱毛或肥胖症，另外12只健康犬作为对照组。
排除其他脱毛和肥胖原因后，根据甲状腺功能测试结果，28只犬（14%）被诊断为甲状腺功能减退。本研究结果显示，金毛寻回犬甲状腺功能减退的发生率最高（21.42%），其次是格里芬犬（17.85%）。此外，不同品种的中年犬（60.71%）甲状腺功能减退的报告率最高。雄性犬（57.14%）的发生率高于雌性犬。甲状腺功能减退的犬只表现出广泛的临床症状，包括皮肤、代谢、心理改变，以及心血管、呼吸、神经肌肉、胃肠道和妇科异常。放射检查显示，患有心脏问题的犬只出现肺水肿（N = 2），甲状腺功能减退且有呕吐症状的犬只出现食管扩张（N = 2）。对患有心脏问题的甲状腺功能减退犬只进行超声心动图检查，发现一级舒张功能障碍。左甲状腺素治疗在给药后1个月内使临床症状得到改善。
与导致犬类皮肤病变或肥胖的其他疾病相比，甲状腺功能减退在犬类中是一种相对常见的病症。因此，在出现可能危及犬只生命的并发症之前，必须考虑早期诊断和治疗。
