Comparison of acetate tape impression, deep skin scraping, and microscopic examination of hair for therapeutic monitoring of dogs with juvenile generalized demodicosis: A pilot study.

The standard method for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of dogs with demodicosis is microscopic examination of deep skin scrapings. Previous studies have compared deep skin scraping and microscopic hair examination to acetate tape impression with skin squeezing for the diagnosis of demodicosis but the latter has never been evaluated for therapeutic monitoring. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate acetate tape impression with skin squeezing as a therapeutic monitoring tool for dogs with juvenile onset generalized demodicosis. An area of skin with primary lesions for demodicosis was chosen and the 3 techniques were performed. The total number of mites including each of the Demodex canis life stages were recorded. This was done weekly until negative results were obtained. There were no significant differences in the total number of mites in the weekly counts between the deep skin scrapings and the acetate tape impressions with skin squeezing. Acetate tape impression with skin squeezing can be used for therapeutic monitoring of dogs with juvenile onset generalized demodicosis.