ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Comparative and Clinical Medicine
Efficacy and side effects of long-term treatment strategies of canine primary hypoadrenocorticism
Provisionally accepted
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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Background: Hypoadrenocorticism (HA) with hyponatremia and hyperkalemia represents primary disease and indicates cortisol and aldosterone insufficiency. Treatment involves replacement of mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids. There are currently no studies comparing the efficacy and side effects of different treatment protocols. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare different treatment protocols for dogs with hyponatremic and hyperkalemic HA regarding their efficacy and side effects. Animals: Two hundred forty-four dogs with HA with electrolyte anomalies. Methods: Data were collected via a standardized online questionnaire (available in english and german), which caregivers of affected dogs completed. The questionnaire was given to clients and was spread in online media. Results: A total of 244 complete questionnaires were received (109 german and 135 english). Of those 244 participating dogs, 126 were female and 118 were male. Based on the treatment applied, the following groups were assigned: Prednisolone and Desoxycortonpivalate (DOCP, Zycortal®) (ZP, n = 167), Prednisolone and Desoxycorticosteronepivalate (DOCP, Percorten-V®) (PP, n = 39), Prednisolone and Fludrocortisone (FP, n = 23) and Fludrocortisone (F, n = 15). The median prednisolone dose was 0.07 mg/kg/day in the ZP and 0.08 mg/kg/day in the FP group and was slightly lower in the PP group with 0.04 mg/kg/day. Median DOCP dose was 0.88 mg/kg every 28 days in the ZP group and 0.78 mg/kg every 28 days in the PP group. Fludrocortisone was dosed with 0.02 mg/kg/day in the FP and F group. All treatment strategies led to a normal activity, quality of life of dog and caregiver, and achieved satisfaction with therapy. This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article Conclusion: Good clinical disease control can be achieved with any of the above strategies. Applied DOCP dose were lower than previously reported and can be combined safely with low prednisolone dosages.
Keywords: Desoxycorticosteronepivalate, Desoxycortonpivalate, DOCP, Dogs, Fludrocortisone, hypoadrenocorticism, Prednisolone, questionnaire
Received: 29 Oct 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dobosz, Zablotski and Wehner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Astrid Wehner
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