Clinical and hematological features of acute and chronic otitis in dogs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31210/spi2026.29.01.32Keywords:
dogs, otitis, clinical status, hematological profile, leukocytosis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anemia of chronic inflammationAbstract
The study presents the clinical features and hematological alterations in peripheral blood of dogs with acute and chronic inflammation of the external auditory canal. The relevance of the research is determined by the high prevalence of otitis in companion animals and the need to identify reliable and objective laboratory criteria for assessing the stage and severity of the inflammatory process. The aim of the study was to perform a comparative clinical and hematological analysis and to identify characteristic patterns of changes in peripheral blood parameters in dogs with acute and chronic otitis. The study was conducted at the Department of Infectious Pathology, Hygiene, Sanitation and Biosafety and at the Shared Research Facilities Center “One Health in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine”. Three groups of dogs were formed for the investigation (10 animals per group): a clinically healthy control group, a group with acute otitis, and a group with chronic otitis. Hematological examinations were performed using the AI-100VET Awalife automated multifunctional hematology analyzer. Acute otitis was characterized by pronounced pain and intense pruritus in 100% of animals, as well as hyperemia and edema of the external auditory canal epithelium in 80 % of dogs. At the systemic level, these changes were accompanied by a significant increase (p<0.05) in total leukocyte count by 57.8 %, an increase in neutrophil proportion by 25.8 %, relative lymphopenia (43.3 % decrease), and a threefold elevation in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) compared with the control group. Chronic otitis was associated with less pronounced pain but was characterized by irreversible structural alterations, including thickening of the auditory canal walls (100 %) and canal stenosis (70 %). Hematological examination of dogs with chronic otitis revealed moderate leukocytosis (31.1 % higher than in controls, p<0.05) and persistent suppression of erythropoiesis. A significant decrease in hemoglobin concentration by 9.0 % (p<0.05) and erythrocyte count by 10.8 % was recorded, indicating the development of anemia. The obtained results may contribute to the optimization of diagnostic monitoring protocols in clinical veterinary medicine and provide an objective and comprehensive assessment of the severity of systemic involvement and endogenous intoxication in animals with diseases of the auditory apparatus.
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