Clinical ? microbiological diagnostic of external otitis in canines in Bogotá - Colombia

Objective. To evaluate clinically and microbiologically implication of Malassezia sp as an etiologic agent of external otitis in canines. Materials and methods. 166 samples of otic swabs in canines with symptoms and clinical findings consistent with external otitis were obtained during the period between July and December 2008. Bacteriological and mycological cultures were carried out from the samples, identification using biochemical profiles for each of the isolated microorganisms were done. Clinical data associated with the disease was entered into a database and then analyzed with the SPSS 17 statistical program. Results. From the 166 samples, 59% (98) of them were positive for bacterial culture with a predominance of Staphylococcus sp 37% (61) and 121 (73%) were positive for Malassezia Of the 121 yeast isolates, 32.2% were Malassezia pachydermatis. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference regarding the relationship between variables (gender, age, race, type of ear or inflammatory response by cytology) and the isolation of Malassezia sp. The significance level for the test was set on 0.05%. Conclusions. There were no statistical associations between the gender, age, or race variables and external otitis by Malassezia sp. Malassezia sp was isolated in 73% of patients with external otitis, involving different bacterial agents especially Staphylococcus sp.