Table 1.
Age, duration of neurologic signs, culture results, treatment and outcome of 19 cats diagnosed with intracranial complications of otitis media/interna (OMI) across five veterinary referral centers
| Case | Age (years) | Duration | Culture results | VBO | Steroids | Antibiotics | Outcome | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Chronic | Pasteurella multocida | Y | Y | Ampicillin-sulbactam; then amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Unsuccessful | 1 month |
| 2 | 2 | Subacute | Staphylococcus species | Y | Y | Clindamycin and marbofloxacin | Successful | 9 months |
| 3 | 0 | Chronic | No growth | N | Y | Cefotaxime; then cefpodoxime | Successful | 1 month |
| 4 | 5 | Acute | Streptococcus species | Y | Y | Ampicillin-sulbactam, enrofloxacin, and clindamycin; then trimethoprim-sulfa | Successful | 8 months |
| 5 | 4 | Chronic | No growth | Y | N | Clindamycin and marbofloxacin | Successful | 1 month |
| 6 | 4 | NA | Actinomyces, Corynebacterium, Staphlococcus species | N | Y | Clindamycin | Unsuccessful | 3 days |
| 7 | 3 | Chronic | No growth | Y | Y | Clindamycin | Successful | 4 months |
| 8 | 5 | Acute | No growth | Y | N | Clindamycin | Successful | 1 month |
| 9 | 12 | Chronic | Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Y | Y | Cefpodoxime; then amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Successful | 4 months |
| 10 | 12 | Subacute | No growth | N | N | Clindamycin | Successful | 1 month |
| 11 | 7 | Unknown | Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli | N | Y | Trimethoprim-sulfa | Successful | 2 months |
| 12 | 6 | Subacute | Pasteurella multocida | N | Y | Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Unsuccessful | 18 h |
| 13 | 3 | Subacute | No growth | Y | Y | Clindamycin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Successful | 2 months |
| 14 | 7 | Unknown | Escherichia coli | N | Y | Marbofloxacin | Successful | 36 months |
| 15 | 6 | Subacute | Streptococcus species | Y | N | Enrofloxacin; then, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Successful | 4 months |
| 16 | 10 | Acute | Pasteurella multocida, Clostridium perfringens, Peptostreptococcus species, Bacteroides vulgatus | N | Y | Not administered | Unsuccessful | 0 h |
| 17 | 12 | Unknown | No growth | Y | N | Enrofloxacin | Successful | 2 months |
| 18 | 10 | Acute | Not performed | Y | Y | Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Successful | 12 months |
| 19 | 13 | Subacute | Propionibacterium acnes, Pasteurella multocida | Y | Y | Clindamycin; then, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid | Unsuccessful | 3 weeks |
Presenting complaint was categorized as acute (0–48 h), subacute (3–7 days) or chronic (>7 days) with respect to duration of neurologic signs prior to presentation. Neurologic outcome was considered successful in cats in which neurologic signs had improved or resolved at the time of last follow-up and was considered unsuccessful if signs were static, worsened or if the cat was ultimately euthanized because of intracranial complications of OMI
VBO = ventral bulla osteotomy; Y = yes; N = no; NA = not applicable