Les dix incontournables en otologie du chien

Canine otitis externa is a frequent cause of consultation in small animal medicine. In spite of this frequency, certain “essentials” are not always mastered by the practitioners. This article reviews 10 key elements to be envisaged when facing otitis externa in dogs, based on recommendations of a group of experts. Otitis must be considered as a real disease and the infection is most of the time a perpetuating but not the main factor. The consultation must include a careful history, a general dermatological examination followed by an examination of the ear flap and the entrance of the auditory canal, an otoscopic or video-otoscopic examination and an examination of the cerumen (search for parasite and cytology); the set of the collected information must allow determining the type of otitis and suggesting appropriate management. The non-observance of these rules can lead to complex situations with selection of multiresistant bacteria. Performing more thorough procedures (bacteriology, cleaning or biopsies under video-otoscopy, imaging, auditory-evoked potentials) is reserved for difficult or recurrent cases in spite of a well-conducted approach/treatment.