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Impact of a terbinafine–florfenicol–betamethasone acetate otic gel on the quality of life of dogs with acute otitis externa and their owners
Author(s) -
Noli Chiara,
Sartori Roberta,
Cena Tiziana
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
veterinary dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1365-3164
pISSN - 0959-4493
DOI - 10.1111/vde.12433
Subject(s) - florfenicol , terbinafine , medicine , otitis , betamethasone , methylprednisolone acetate , audiology , microbiology and biotechnology , dermatology , surgery , biology , corticosteroid , antibiotics , antifungal , itraconazole
Background Treatment of canine otitis externa with owner‐administered products can be difficult. Objectives To evaluate otic treatment administered by a veterinarian on quality of life (QoL) of dogs with otitis externa and their owners, and on clinical and cytology parameters of otitis; compared to an owner‐administered treatment. Animals Fifty client‐owned dogs randomly randomized into two groups and treated for 2 weeks. Methods Veterinarians treated Group A dogs with a veterinary licensed otic gel on two occasions at a 1 week interval; owners treated Group B dogs once daily with a veterinary licensed otic drop based product along with twice weekly cleaning. Veterinarians evaluated otitis with the OTI ‐3 scale and semi‐quantitative cytological examination on days 0, 7, 14 and 28. At each visit, owners assessed QoL with a validated questionnaire and pruritus with a Visual Analog Scale. Scores before and after treatment of each group, and differences between groups were analysed statistically. Results In both groups, all parameters improved significantly. There was a significantly higher improvement of QoL scores, for dogs and owners, in Group A, compared to Group B at all time points ( P < 0.05), except for owner QoL on Day 28. There was no difference in improvement of OTI ‐3 between groups at any time point, whereas Group A cytology scores and pruritus improved significantly more by Day 7 ( P = 0.0026 and P = 0.0294, respectively). Conclusion A veterinarian‐administered otic gel provided equivalent efficacy and higher QoL to dogs with otitis externa and their owners, compared to an owner‐administered topical otic therapy.