Otitis externa (OE) is defined as an acute or chronic inflammation of the external ear canal. In dogs, it is a very common alteration, being reported to represent up to 20% of all visits seen in the daily small animal clinic. In cats, otitis externa is less common, accounting for about 4% of all medical cases. Although it is often considered a diagnosis, otitis externa is just a clinical sign, almost always resulting from an underlying primary cause, almost always involving a secondary infection, and in which other predisposing and perpetuating factors also contribute to the disease. For the effective management of all cases of otitis, these factors must be identified and controlled.
Otitis media (OM) usually occurs as an extension of otitis externa and can occur in up to 80% of cases of chronic otitis, being a frequent cause of therapeutic failure in the management of OE.
With this class we intend to define the most appropriate therapeutic approaches taking into account the different clinical scenarios.
