Otite em cães e gatos atendidos no hospital veterinário do CCA/UFPB: estudo retrospectivo

Abstract

Otitis is the inflammation of the ear canal, can be divided by its clinical Evolution into recurrent, acute or chronic. The otitis externa is one of the most presente diseases found in veterinary routine, especially in dogs, and could affect Around 20% of animals of this species. The clinical signs of otitis vary according to the degree, and, especially in dogs, there may be itching, pain, erythema, head shaking, exudation and a strong odor. In cats, the most commonly seen signs are a tilted head or lowered ears. The success of treating otitis, especially recurrent ones, is due to the detection of the etiological agent and predisposing factors, enabling more targeted therapy. The diagnosis of this disease is made through clinical signs, otological exams, cytology and culture, with ear cytology being an important routine exam due to its accessibility and quick results. The objective of this Course Completion Work was to determine the predominance of etiological agents involved in otitis in dogs and cats treated at the Veterinary University Hospital of the Agricultural Sciences Center of the Federal University of Paraíba, in the period corresponding between February 2023 and February 2024. 258 ear cytologies were analyzed, which were subsequently organized in a Microsoft Office Excel® spreadsheet and divided by month, species, sex, age, presence of bacteria, fungi and unilateral or bilateral otitis. A period with more requests for ear infections was observed between the months of March and May. Among the animals with otitis, 80% were dogs, 17% were cats and 3% were animals of other species. There was no sexual or age predisposition. 83% of dogs with otitis and 64% of cats with otitis had some pathological microorganism on ear cytology slides and Malassezia was the most common microorganism among these cytology, followed by cocci and bacilli. These results demonstrate the importance of ear cytology to help guide the appropriate treatment of otitis.