This article is sponsored content brought to you by Dermcare Vet.
More than an ear cleaner
What is Otoflush®?
Otoflush® is a neutral buffered pre-treatment ear flush to clean and reduce microbial numbers in the ears of dogs. Otoflush® contains PHMB and Tris-EDTA. PHMB causes bacterial cell death by condensing chromosomes and arresting cell division. It is a highly effective antiseptic with a broad-spectrum antimicrobial effect against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, yeast and fungi. Tris-EDTA chelates calcium and magnesium ions on the bacterial cell wall, leading to cell wall damage and increased antimicrobial penetration.
Properties of Otoflush®
The three main actions of Otoflush® are:
1. Removal of wax and exudate
2. Reduces microbial numbers
3. Improves the penetration of and increases bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobial preparations used to treat canine otitis externa.
Otoflush® is pH neutral, and therefore doesn’t sting, even when the ear canal is inflamed or ulcerated. Otoflush® may be used under the direction of a registered veterinarian in cases of canine otitis externa where the ear drum is ruptured.
Time kill assays
Otoflush® has been shown in numerous studies to quickly and effectively kill bacteria within the ear canal of dogs. In a recent in vitro study, Otoflush® was tested against common bacterial isolates found in cases of canine otitis externa. A time kill assay was performed at designated time points using a standardised procedure1. The bacteria are exposed to Otoflush® for 10 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, 5 min, 10 min, 30 min and 24 hour time points before Otoflush® is neutralised1. Neutralisation is an important step in time-dependent studies, to ensure that false positive results do not occur from the additional killing activity of the active ingredients being tested. Otoflush® had a 100% kill rate at 10 seconds for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius at 1/10 and 1/16 dilutions1. Further in vitro trials conducted by Dermcare-Vet, confirmed the efficacy of Otoflush® against a broader range of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria including Burkholderia spp., Klebsiella aerogenes, Serratia marcescens, Corynebacterium spp., Enterococcus spp. and Staphylococcus schleiferi with 100% kill rate at 10 seconds (1/10 dilution)2.
This data highlights the immediate activity of Otoflush® in reducing microbial numbers and means there is no wait time required between cleaning the ears with Otoflush® and applying medicated drops.
Use in canine otitis externa
Dermcare recommends using Otoflush® to clean the ears prior to every application of medicated ear drops for purulent infections for up to 7 days. Purulent infections are commonly caused by bacteria, therefore, cleaning the ears prior to medicated drops will increase the penetration and effectiveness of the antimicrobials. Once the infection has cleared, Otoflush® can be used once weekly as a maintenance therapy to reduce microbial numbers and to clean the ear from exudate.
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References
1. Gonzaga, Z., Antimicrobial activity of Dermcare-Vet Otoflush® with different PHMB concentrations on biofilms and planktonic microorganisms, 2022. Commercial in confidence, Dermcare-Vet.
2. Dermcare-Vet (2024). Commercial in confidence data.
