Research Communications of the 27(th) ECVIM-CA Congress: Intercontinental, Saint Julian's, Malta, 14th to 16th September 2017

Disclosures: No disclosures to report. >2 times normal and histopathologic features based on WSAVA guidelines, characterized by moderate to severe chronic inflammation, hepatocellular apoptosis or necrosis, and fibrosis. Most cases are classified as idiopathic and therefore, optimal management for CH has not been established. Corticosteroids are reported to prolong survival in some dogs, suggesting an immune-mediated mechanism to the disease. However, corticosteroids cause significant side effects and induce a steroid hepatopathy that confounds interpretation of liver enzymes during therapy. To date, there are no studies investigating the use of alternative immunosuppressive therapy, such as cyclosporine (Cys), in the management of canine idiopathic CH. The primary aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Cys in the treatment of idiopathic CH. A secondary aim was to identify any factors influencing Cys treatment response or time to remission. Remission was defined as normalization of serum ALT. Our hypotheses were that: (i) Cys therapy would achieve remission and (ii) Lower pretreatment clinical scores and higher serum ALT would predict prolonged times to remission.