Efecto de la N-Acetilcisteína como coadyuvante en el tratamiento de otitis externa por Malassezia spp en perros

Abstract

N-Acetylcysteine is a compound used in the daily clinic to treat pathologies of the lower respiratory tract, corneal ulcers, urinary tract infections and acetaminophen poisoning. However, its efficacy in the treatment of external otitis as an adjuvant has been observed in different studies, due to its antimicrobial, mucolytic and antioxidant action. Otitis externa in the canine species is a pathology frequently found in patients, whose percentage is around 20% and of which 50% of cases are usually chronic, with Malassezia spp being a pathogen involve in this disease. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of N-Acetylcysteine as an adjuvant in the treatment of external otitis caused by Malassezia spp in dogs, at the “VetPro” specialty clinic in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Otitis was classified using the OTIS-3 scale and swabs and cytologies were performed on 20 dogs with control treatment and 20 dogs with N-Acetylcysteine at day 0, 5 and 20 to assess the load of Malassezia spp and the patient was determined as recovered or not recovered. When evaluated by the OTIS-3 scale, it was shown that on day 20 the secretion parameter decreased significantly (p = 0.018) when treated with N-Acetylcysteine in vertical ear canal and similar results in horizontal ear canal (p = 0.058). The Malassezia spp count at the end of the study did not show significant differences in the Treatment group with N- Acetylcysteine compared to the Control group (p > 0.05). In the recovery based on OTIS-3, the group treated with NAcetylcysteine at day 20 compared to day 0, revealed a significant difference (p = 0.031). The results show that N-Acetylcysteine fulfills an antibiofilm function since it decreases the amount of secretion and the recovery of patients at the end of treatment is evident.