A prospective study evaluating the impact of chronic otitis on the quality-of-life of dogs and their owners and assessment of the short-term impact of specialist intervention.

Background: A prospective assessment of the impact of chronic otitis externa (COE) on the wellbeing of affected dogs and their owners has not been thoroughly investigated.

Hypothesis/objectives: To evaluate the quality-of-life (QoL) of dogs with COE and their owners before and after specialist treatment. Secondary objectives included the determination of the influence of patient factors, duration of disease, microbial culture results and 0-3 Otitis Index Scores (OTIS3) on the final treatment outcomes.

Animals: Thirty-one client-owned dogs with COE of ≥3 months duration, scheduled for video-otoscopy and ear flush.

Materials and methods: Dogs were evaluated at pre-visit, video-otoscopy (Day 0) and subsequent visits (V1, V2). At each time point, QoL, OTIS3 and pruritus Visual Analog Scale (pVAS) scores were collected. Additional data included breed, age of onset of otitis and cytological and microbial culture results.

Results: COE was successfully treated in 79.6% ears with a mean time to resolution of 6 weeks after initial consultation. For dogs, a significant reduction in QoL was recorded between pre-visit and V1: p < 0.001, and V2: p < 0.001. For owners, a significant reduction was seen between pre-visit and D0 (p = 0.008), D0 and V1 (p < 0.001) and pre-visit and V2 (p < 0.001). Isolation of Pseudomonas spp. was strongly associated with treatment failure. Late age of onset and longer episodes were associated with worse outcomes.

Conclusions and clinical relevance: COE imposes a burden on both the QoL of affected dogs and their owners. Timely referral to a specialist significantly enhances clinical outcomes and improves QoL.