title: Impact of a terbinafine-florfenicol-betamethasone acetate otic gel on the quality of life of dogs with acute otitis externa and their owners.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Treatment of canine otitis externa with owner-administered products can be difficult.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate otic treatment administered by a veterinarian on quality of life (QoL) of dogs with otitis externa and their owners, and on clinical and cytology parameters of otitis; compared to an owner-administered treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty client-owned dogs randomly randomized into two groups and treated for 2 weeks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Veterinarians treated Group A dogs with a veterinary licensed otic gel on two occasions at a 1 week interval; owners treated Group B dogs once daily with a veterinary licensed otic drop based product along with twice weekly cleaning. Veterinarians evaluated otitis with the OTI-3 scale and semi-quantitative cytological examination on days 0, 7, 14 and 28. At each visit, owners assessed QoL with a validated questionnaire and pruritus with a Visual Analog Scale. Scores before and after treatment of each group, and differences between groups were analysed statistically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both groups, all parameters improved significantly. There was a significantly higher improvement of QoL scores, for dogs and owners, in Group A, compared to Group B at all time points (P < 0.05), except for owner QoL on Day 28. There was no difference in improvement of OTI-3 between groups at any time point, whereas Group A cytology scores and pruritus improved significantly more by Day 7 (P = 0.0026 and P = 0.0294, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A veterinarian-administered otic gel provided equivalent efficacy and higher QoL to dogs with otitis externa and their owners, compared to an owner-administered topical otic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Servizi Dermatologici Veterinari, Strada Bedale della Ressia 2, Peveragno, CN, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Noli
authors.affiliation: Servizi Dermatologici Veterinari, Via Sporting Mirasole 39, Opera, MI, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Medicine, Unit of Medical Statistics and Cancer Epidemiology, University "Amedeo Avogadro" of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cena
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010032:Otitis Externa / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D011788:Quality of Life; D000077291:Terbinafine; D013839:Thiamphenicol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005782:Gels; D009281:Naphthalenes; D001623:Betamethasone; C035534:florfenicol; D013839:Thiamphenicol; D000077291:Terbinafine