Otitis externa in dogs: prevalence and diagnosis (using the example of the “Divet” clinic, Uzhhorod)

The article describes the prevalence and diagnosis of external otitis in dogs. It is noted that according to the results of previous studies and taking into account laboratory diagnostics, in 2024, 35 animals were diagnosed with “otitis” in the “Divet” clinic, which, as a percentage of the sick dogs registered in the outpatient journal, was 8.5 %. By breed, the most frequently affected dogs with ear pathology were German shepherds and Labradors (20 %), pugs (11.4 %), East European shepherds (14.3 %), bulldogs (11.4 %), spaniels (8.6 %), as well as 1–2 dogs of the Cocker Spaniel and Pekingese breeds. In terms of age, dogs under 5 years were most often affected by acute and chronic forms of otitis. It was found that the incidence of animals was manifested in all seasons; however, the most significant number of otitis was registered in the winter period (40 %). 9 dogs had acute ear pathology, and 26 had chronic form. The main clinical signs characteristic of most sick animals were tilting and shaking of the head, pain during examination of the auricle, erythema of the skin of the ears, and the release of inflammatory exudate of various amounts and nature. The body temperature of animals with ear pathology depended on the course: in the acute form it fluctuated within 39.6–40 ºС, and in the chronic form – 38–39 ºС. In chronic otitis, 7 dogs (20 %) were diagnosed with unilateral inflammation of the periauricular lymph nodes, and in 3 (8.6 %), an increase in the cervical lymph nodes. In every 2nd sick dog, keratosis of the auricle was noted during clinical examination, and in a third, maceration. It was found that, against the background of the development of otitis media in dogs, the blood picture was determined by the nature of the pathology. The content of leukocytes in animals with acute inflammation of the external ear was 39.6 % higher than in clinically healthy animals (P < 0.05). In the chronic course of the pathological process, the deviations of the studied indicator were 22.2 % (P < 0.05). The percentage of segmental-nuclear neutrophils in the blood of dogs with acute and chronic otitis media was, compared with the control, higher by 17.5 (P < 0.05) and 12.5 % (P < 0.05), respectively. The number of lymphocytes, on the contrary, was lower by 32.2 (P < 0.05) and 25.9 % (P < 0.05), respectively. The total protein content in dogs' blood serum with acute and chronic course of ear pathology significantly (P < 0.05) decreased. Characteristic was the increase in α-globulins in the blood, which we established by 18.1 % (P < 0.05). The activity of ALT in the blood serum of dogs with acute otitis was 84.6 %, and with chronic otitis, 2 times higher than the control indicator. At the same time, the dynamics of AST activity were even more pronounced: a similar indicator in clinically healthy dogs was 2.3 and 2.5 times lower (P < 0.01). According to the assessment of the immune status of dogs, against the background of the development of otitis, suppression of indicators of nonspecific immunity, humoral and cellular immunity was established.