Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42407254›Full record

ArticleJournal of veterinary internal medicine2026

Validation of an improved insect bite hypersensitivity severity score for allergic equine insect bite hypersensitivity in horses.

Juwela Lam, Anna Eckert, Tanya Rhiner, Nina Waldern, Elio Schwarz, Katharina Birkmann, Daniel Widmer, Macsmeila Dietrich, Thomas M Kündig, Antonia Fettelschoss-Gabriel

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of veterinary internal medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Juwela LamEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.
Anna EckertEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.
Tanya RhinerEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.
Nina WaldernEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.
Elio SchwarzEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.
Katharina BirkmannEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-1142-2132
Daniel WidmerEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-8623-2328
Macsmeila DietrichDepartment of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, 8952, Switzerland.
Thomas M KündigDepartment of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, 8952, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-3863-8766
Antonia Fettelschoss-GabrielEvax AG, Guntershausen b. Aadorf, 8357, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-6189-172X

Funding

Swiss National Fond 40B2-0_194689
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInsect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most common allergic skin disease in horses, but existing clinical scoring systems lack extensive validation, limiting standardized disease monitoring and therapeutic evaluation. HYPOTHESIS/

objectivesDevelop and validate a standardized, sensitive, and reproducible clinical scoring system for IBH in horses. ANIMALS: Forty-four privately-owned horses with clinically diagnosed IBH examined under field conditions in Switzerland.

methodsIn this prospective field validation study, the equine IBH severity score (EqIS) integrates a lesion severity score and an area score using a multiplicative algorithm. Six trained evaluators assessed horses independently. Primary outcomes were intra- and interobserver reliability of the lesion severity score and EqIS assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Secondary analyses included agreement of the area score (Pearson correlation), correlations between owner-reported visual analog scale (VAS) scores and EqIS, and comparison between EqIS and a simplified EqIS developed for field use.

resultsIntraobserver reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.995 for the lesion severity score and 0.989 for EqIS), and interobserver reliability was similarly high (ICC = 0.98 for both). The area score showed strong interobserver agreement (Pearson r = 0.86-0.94). Owner VAS scores correlated moderately with EqIS (ρ = 0.49-0.51) and strongly with each other (ρ = 0.88). The simplified EqIS demonstrated strong agreement with the validated version (R2 = 0.86). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The EqIS is the first extensively validated IBH-specific scoring system and demonstrates excellent reproducibility across evaluators. It provides an objective tool for standardized disease assessment and therapeutic monitoring, whereas the simplified EqIS offers a practical alternative for routine field use.

Indexed as

Horse DiseasesHypersensitivityInsect Bites and StingsVenom HypersensitivityAnimalsFemaleHorsesMaleObserver VariationProspective StudiesReproducibility of ResultsSeverity of Illness IndexSwitzerlandallergic equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH)Culicoides hypersensitivitydisease scoreequine dermatologyobserver agreementtherapeutic monitoringvalidation

Identifiers

PMID42407254
PMCPMC13336633

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