Therapeutic Management of Malassezia Otitis Externa in Canines Lathamani V.S.*, Ramesh P.T., Suryanarayana T. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary College Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Hebbal, Bengaluru-560024, karnataka *Corresponding author E-mail: lathamed@gmail.com
Online published on 26 July, 2017. Abstract The study was undertaken to demonstrate the usefulness of ear cleanser along with antimicrobial ear drops in treatment of Malassezia otitis externa. Out of twelve dogs with symptoms of ear infection, eight dogs were diagnosed positive for Malassezia infection based on cytological studies of tape impression smear and ear roll swab. The dogs were included for two week therapeutic protocol. After seven day treatment with once daily ear cleansing with ear cleanser and using otitis drops twice daily, only two dogs showed evidence of pruritus and one dog showed mild erythema/ lichenification. None of the dogs exhibited head shaking. Cytology for Malassezia was negative in 5 dogs, two dogs had a few Malassezia (5-15 organisms/HPF) and one dog had moderate number of Malassezia (16-30 organisms/HPF). After an additional seven day period, where only ear cleaning was advised, two dogs still showed pruritus, none had erythematous canals and lichenification, none exhibited head shaking. At this time, only one dog out of the 8 cases treated (Pug that also had cutaneous Malassezia) showed a few Malassezia. Most clients reported good to excellent results at two weeks. Top Keywords Head shaking, malassezia, otitis externa, pruritus. Top |