Gossypiboma of renal compartment: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Textiloma is a rare surgical complication. The location in the renal compartment is exceptional. The diagnosis can be difficult due to its rarity and the absence of clinical signs. The best treatment remains preventive by carefully counting the compresses and the operating fields at the beginning and end of the procedure. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present a case report of a 71-year-old female patient with a high blood pressure under treatment. In this history, we noted a right nephrectomy by a lombotomy 6 years ago indicated for a mute kidney on a pyelo-ureteral junction syndrome and a drainage of a suppuration of this renal compartment a year after surgery. The patient was diagnosed with purulent discharge through the lombotomy site associated with lower back pain that had been present for 4 years. The patient then underwent an uro-CT scan which showed an oval formation of the right renal compartment suggestive of a textiloma. An exploratory right lombotomy was performed. And then the wetraction of the compresses followed by washing and closing had been done. The postoperative course was simple. DISCUSSION: The location in the renal compartment is exceptional. These may include compresses, surgical gauzes, sponges, cotton pads, etc. The inflammation caused by this foreign body will be responsible for an abscess in the event of infection. An evolution towards chronicity follows as long as the foreign body persists. Diagnosis and reoperation are often made during the same hospitalization period. Early imaging will help to make early diagnosis avoiding diagnostic wandering. The diagnosis was made late in our observation. However, the diagnosis can be difficult due to its rarity and the absence of clinical signs. CONCLUSION: Textiloma is a rare surgical complication. Renal localization, although rare, is "exceptional" of consequence. The best treatment remains preventive by carefully counting the compresses and the operating fields at the beginning and end of the procedure.

Gossypiboma migration into the bladder.

Gossypiboma is a dreaded complication following mainly abdomino-pelvic surgeries. The clinical presentation varies widely and is strongly associated with two factors: localization of the textiloma and type of the tissue reaction. Intravesical gossypiboma migration is rare and usually presents as recurrent urinary tract infections. We report a case of gossypiboma migration into the bladder that was treated by endoscopic extraction. The purpose of this report is to remind the importance of the prevention which must be the challenge rather than the treatment modalities.

Contained rupture of a left renal artery aneurysm: Report of a case.

Ruptured renal artery aneurysms are uncommon. Although the increased use of endovascular technologies, controversy persists over the management. Contained rupture may be more difficult to diagnose, hence delay the management. We report a case of contained rupture of renal artery aneurysm treated with selective embolization prior to nephrectomy.

Adult renal neuroblastoma: A case report.

Adult renal neuroblastoma is a rare condition, and a few cases have been previously described in the literature. Its prognosis is variable and the treatment suffer the lack of specific guidelines due to the low incidence. We report a case of adult renal neuroblastoma managed with nephrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. The purpose of this report is to update the knowledge available on this disease.

Gangrene of the abdomen secondary to spontaneous extraperitoneal bladder rupture: A case report.

Spontaneous bladder rupture is a rare condition, and its diagnosis has evolved over time. The clinical presentation is variable and nonspecific, with prognosis depending on the patient's condition and early recognition. We report a case of spontaneous bladder rupture complicated by abdominal wall gangrene managed in our center. The purpose of this report is to update the knowledge available on this disease.

Gut Microbiota Associated with Clostridioides difficile Carriage in Three Clinical Groups (Inflammatory Bowel Disease, C. difficile Infection and Healthcare Workers) in Hospital Field.

Clostridioides difficile is an anaerobic spore-forming Gram-positive bacterium. C. difficile carriage and 16S rDNA profiling were studied in three clinical groups at three different sampling times: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, C. difficile infection (CDI) patients and healthcare workers (HCWs). Diversity analysis was realized in the three clinical groups, the positive and negative C. difficile carriage groups and the three analysis periods. Concerning the three clinical groups, ß-diversity tests showed significant differences between them, especially between the HCW group and IBD group and between IBD patients and CDI patients. The Simpson index (evenness) showed a significant difference between two clinical groups (HCWs and IBD). Several genera were significantly different in the IBD patient group (Sutterella, Agathobacter) and in the CDI patient group (Enterococcus, Clostridioides). Concerning the positive and negative C. difficile carriage groups, ß-diversity tests showed significant differences. Shannon, Simpson and InvSimpson indexes showed significant differences between the two groups. Several genera had significantly different relative prevalences in the negative group (Agathobacter, Sutterella, Anaerostipes, Oscillospira) and the positive group (Enterococcus, Enterobacteriaceae_ge and Enterobacterales_ge). A microbiota footprint was detected in C. difficile-positive carriers. More experiments are needed to test this microbiota footprint to see its impact on C. difficile infection.

Microbiota Profiling on Veterinary Faculty Restroom Surfaces and Source Tracking.

In this study, we aimed to develop a comprehensive microbial source amplicon database tailored for source tracking in veterinary settings. We rigorously tested our locally curated source tracking database by selecting a frequently accessed environment by veterinary students and veterinarians. By exploring the composition of resident microbiota and identifying potential sources of contamination, including animals, the environment, and human beings, we aimed to provide valuable insights into the dynamics of microbial transmission within veterinary facilities. The 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing was used to determine the bacterial taxonomic profiles of restroom surfaces. Bacterial sources were identified by linking our metadata-enriched local database to the microbiota profiling analysis using high-quality sequences. Microbiota profiling shows the dominance of four phyla: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes. If the restroom cleaning process did not appear to impact microbiota composition, significant differences regarding bacterial distribution were observed between male and female users in different sampling campaigns. Combining 16S rDNA profiling to our specific sources labeling pipeline, we found aquatic and human sources were the primary environment keywords in our campaigns. The probable presence of known animal sources (bovids, insects, equids, suids…) associated with bacterial genera such as Chryseobacterium, Bergeyella, Fibrobacter, and Syntrophococcus was also involved in restroom surfaces, emphasizing the proximity between these restrooms and the exchange of bacteria between people involved in animals handling. To summarize, we have demonstrated that DNA sequence-based source tracking may be integrated with high-throughput bacterial community analysis to enrich microbial investigation of potential bacterial contamination sources, especially for little known or poorly identified taxa. However, more research is needed to determine the tool's utility in other applications.

Bias-Corrected CMIP5 Projections for Climate Change and Assessments of Impact on Malaria in Senegal under the VECTRI Model.

On the climate-health issue, studies have already attempted to understand the influence of climate change on the transmission of malaria. Extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, or heat waves can alter the course and distribution of malaria. This study aims to understand the impact of future climate change on malaria transmission using, for the first time in Senegal, the ICTP's community-based vector-borne disease model, TRIeste (VECTRI). This biological model is a dynamic mathematical model for the study of malaria transmission that considers the impact of climate and population variability. A new approach for VECTRI input parameters was also used. A bias correction technique, the cumulative distribution function transform (CDF-t) method, was applied to climate simulations to remove systematic biases in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models (GCMs) that could alter impact predictions. Beforehand, we use reference data for validation such as CPC global unified gauge-based analysis of daily precipitation (CPC for Climate Prediction Center), ERA5-land reanalysis, Climate Hazards InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), and African Rainfall Climatology 2.0 (ARC2). The results were analyzed for two CMIP5 scenarios for the different time periods: assessment: 1983-2005; near future: 2006-2028; medium term: 2030-2052; and far future: 2077-2099). The validation results show that the models reproduce the annual cycle well. Except for the IPSL-CM5B model, which gives a peak in August, all the other models (ACCESS1-3, CanESM2, CSIRO, CMCC-CM, CMCC-CMS, CNRM-CM5, GFDL-CM3, GFDL-ESM2G, GFDL-ESM2M, inmcm4, and IPSL-CM5B) agree with the validation data on a maximum peak in September with a period of strong transmission in August-October. With spatial variation, the CMIP5 model simulations show more of a difference in the number of malaria cases between the south and the north. Malaria transmission is much higher in the south than in the north. However, the results predicted by the models on the occurrence of malaria by 2100 show differences between the RCP8.5 scenario, considered a high emission scenario, and the RCP4.5 scenario, considered an intermediate mitigation scenario. The CanESM2, CMCC-CM, CMCC-CMS, inmcm4, and IPSL-CM5B models predict decreases with the RCP4.5 scenario. However, ACCESS1-3, CSIRO, NRCM-CM5, GFDL-CM3, GFDL-ESM2G, and GFDL-ESM2M predict increases in malaria under all scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The projected decrease in malaria in the future with these models is much more visible in the RCP8.5 scenario. The results of this study are of paramount importance in the climate-health field. These results will assist in decision-making and will allow for the establishment of preventive surveillance systems for local climate-sensitive diseases, including malaria, in the targeted regions of Senegal.

Evaluation of knowledge of priapism in sickle cell patients in Senegal.

PURPOSE: Erectile dysfunction is a dreadful complication of priapism especially with delay in diagnosis and management. The lack of awareness of priapism as a vaso-occlusive complication of sickle cell disease (SCD) is more concerning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the burden of priapism in adult Senegalese males adults with sickle cell disease. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out amongst consecutive consenting males aged 18 years and older with SCD presenting to the in Haematology Department of the National Blood Transfusion Centre (Dakar, Senegal). All participants completed a questionnaire detailing knowledge on the definition of priapism, its association with SCD, consequences of untreated priapism and treatment options. RESULTS: A total of 219 participants completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents was 27.1 years with a range of (18-54). Of the respondents, 78.5% (n = 172) did not have any knowledge of the term "priapism". After the term was explained, 38.4% (n = 84) thought that there may be a risk of developing priapism given the diagnosis of sickle cell disease. Among the participants, 41.5% (n = 91) reported having a history of priapism. Among all patients who experienced priapism, 36.3% (n = 33) did not seek medical attention with episodes of priapism. It was found that 48.4% (n = 106) of the participants thought there may be a risk of irreversible complications associated with priapism and a corresponding proportion, 42% (n = 92) thought this risk was time dependent. 36.5% (n = 80) of patients believed priapism could lead to erectile dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Priapism is a common complication of sickle cell disease in Senegalese adults which is not well known by sickle cell patients. The health authorities must undertake efforts to raise awareness of priapism as a complication amongst sickle cell patients.

[Epidemiological, etiological and evolutionary profile of vesico-vaginal fistulas in Senegal]. / Profil épidémiologique, étiologique et évolutif des fistules vésico-vaginales au Sénégal.

AIM: To evaluate the epidemiological, etiological and evolutionary profile of vesico-vaginal fistulas (VVF) in university hospitals in Senegal. PATIENTS AND METHOD: This is a retrospective, descriptive, single-center study, collecting the records of patients followed for VVF between January 2014 and December 2019 at the Urology and Andrology Department of the Centre hospitalier universitaire Aristide Le Dantec, Dakar, Senegal. The following parameters were studied: age, geographical origin, parity, and etiology of VVF. To assess the evolution of the epidemiological and etiological profile of VVF, we compared our results with those of series published by our structure. RESULTS: Forty-five (45) VVFs were identified over a period of 6 years. This represents an annual average of 7.5 fistulas. The average age was 40±15.13 years with extremes of 13 years and 75 years; 17 patients (37.8%) were older than 45 years. The average parity was 3 with extremes from 0 to 12 children. Multiparous women represented 68.8% of the patients. Obstetric VVF (OVF) was more frequent (48.9%) followed by iatrogenic VVF (33.3%). The mean age was higher in the IVF group compared to the VVF group (32 years) (P = 0.0004). Thirty patients were from the Dakar region and its suburbs (66.6%). The etiology of VVF did not vary according to the geographical origin of the patients (P=NS). VVF was frequently associated with the management of cervical cancer in 42.2% of cases. Comparison of our current data with previous series shows a reduction in the annual incidence of VVF. VVFs, although they have decreased significantly, are still predominant. There is a constant increase in the number of IVF. CONCLUSION: There is an evolution of the epidemiological and etiological profile marked by a decrease in the frequency of VVFs and an increase in that of IVFs. It is also worth noting the frequent association between cervical cancer and VVF. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4: retrospective study.

Enuresis and overactive bladder in sickle cell patients: a narrative review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to clarify the prevalence, pathophysiology and clinical presentation of enuresis and overactive bladder in sickle cell patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This narrative review of the literature was conducted in March 2022 by running a search in PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane databases without publication date limitation, using the following keywords: enuresis or nocturia or overactive bladder or urinary incontinence or bedwetting and sickle cell. RESULTS: Eight cross-sectional studies were included, six of which had a non-sickle cell control population. The prevalence of enuresis in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease ranged from 20.3 to 49.4%. It decreased with age to 2.9% in adult sickle cell patients. Enuresis in sickle cell patients has been attributed to several causes, including lack of urine concentration with nocturnal polyuria, reduced bladder capacity, nocturnal bladder hyperactivity, sleep and/or respiratory disorders are likely causes of enuresis in sickle cell patients. The prevalence of overactive bladder is three times higher in sickle cell patients than in control groups. The latter is also observed three times more frequently in men who have had prior episodes of priapism. CONCLUSION: Enuresis and overactive bladder are common in sickle cell patients. Several mechanisms have been described to try to explain enuresis in sickle cell patients but overactive bladder seems to play a major role. Studies evaluating the efficacy of certain experimentally validated treatments must be carried out to improve the management of these complications which affect the quality of life of sickle cell patients.

Acute coronary syndrome complicated by cardiogenic shock in a young adult: a case report from Dakar, Senegal.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of cardiovascular deaths worldwide. It is becoming a major concern in developing countries, partly due to the adoption of Western lifestyles. It affects young adults as well as older patients over 45 years of age. In this report, we present a case of cardiogenic shock related to myocardial infarction in a young adult. He completed cardiac rehabilitation after the surgery. The outcome was favourable at the six-month follow up.

Study of the microbial diversity of a panel of Belgian artisanal cheeses associated with challenge studies for Listeria monocytogenes.

High throughput sequencing could become a powerful tool in food safety. This study was the first to investigate artisanal cheeses from Belgium (31 batches) using metagenetics, in relation to Listeria monocytogenes growth data acquired during a previous project. Five cheese types were considered, namely unripened acid-curd cheeses, smear- and mold-ripened soft cheeses, and Gouda-type and Saint-Paulin-type cheeses. Each batch was analyzed in triplicate the first and the last days of storage at 8 °C. Globally, 2697 OTUs belonging to 277 genera and to 15 phyla were identified. Lactococcus was dominant in all types, but Streptococcus was co-dominant in smear-ripened soft cheeses and Saint-Paulin-type cheeses. The dominant population was not always associated with added starter cultures. Bacterial richness and diversity were significantly higher in both types of soft cheeses than in other categories, including particular genera like Prevotella, Faecalibacterium and Hafnia-Obesumbacterium in mold-ripened cheeses and Brevibacterium, Brachybacterium, Microbacterium, Bacteroides, Corynebacterium, Marinilactibacillus, Fusobacterium, Halomonas and Psychrobacter in smear-ripened soft cheeses. A strong correlation was observed between no growth of L. monocytogenes in a smear-ripened cheese and the presence of an unknown Fusobacterium (relative abundance around 10%). This in silico correlation should be confirmed by further experiments in vitro and in situ.

Potential resident bacterial microbiota in udder tissues of culled cows sampled in abattoir.

While mammary gland tissues (MGTs) are difficult to sample without risks for cow's health or milk production, milk analysis are used in routine to assess dairy cow udder's health. This study aimed to identify, quantify, compare the milk and MGTs microbiota of macroscopically healthy dairy bovine mammary glands (MG) in order to evaluate their degree of similarity. We harvested 13 couples of milk and MGTs samples, originated from the same quarter at culling. 16S rDNA Amplicon Sequencing was performed, showing Corynebacterium as the main bacterial genus in both types of samples but generally found in the milk in higher proportions than in tissues. Species evenness was higher in MGTs while species richness was higher in milk samples. Beta diversity was significantly different between both matrices suggesting the presence of a resident microbiota in MGTs of dairy cows at time of culling partially reflected by the milk microbiota from the same quarter.

Modeling the Growth and Interaction Between Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp., and Leuconostoc gelidum in Minced Pork Samples.

The aim of this study was to obtain the growth parameters of specific spoilage micro-organisms previously isolated in minced pork (MP) samples and to develop a three-spoilage species interaction model under different storage conditions. Naturally contaminated samples were used to validate this approach by considering the effect of the food microbiota. Three groups of bacteria were inoculated on irradiated samples, in mono- and in co-culture experiments (n = 1152): Brochothrix thermosphacta, Leuconostoc gelidum, and Pseudomonas spp. (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas fragi). Samples were stored in two food packaging [food wrap and modified atmosphere packaging (CO2 30%/O2 70%)] at three isothermal conditions (4, 8, and 12°C). Analysis was carried out by using both 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and classical microbiology in order to estimate bacterial counts during the storage period. Growth parameters were obtained by fitting primary (Baranyi) and secondary (square root) models. The food packaging shows the highest impact on bacterial growth rates, which in turn have the strongest influence on the shelf life of food products. Based on these results, a three-spoilage species interaction model was developed by using the modified Jameson-effect model and the Lotka Volterra (prey-predator) model. The modified Jameson-effect model showed slightly better performances, with 40-86% out of the observed counts falling into the Acceptable Simulation Zone (ASZ). It only concerns 14-48% for the prey-predator approach. These results can be explained by the fact that the dynamics of experimental and validation datasets seems to follow a Jameson behavior. On the other hand, the Lotka Volterra model is based on complex interaction factors, which are included in highly variable intervals. More datasets are probably needed to obtained reliable factors, and so better model fittings, especially for three- or more-spoilage species interaction models. Further studies are also needed to better understand the interaction of spoilage bacteria between them and in the presence of natural microbiota.

Effect of increasing levels of rice distillers' by-product on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile and colonic microbiota of weaned piglets.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets containing different wet rice distillers' by-product (RDP) levels on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles and gut microbiome of weaned piglets. METHODS: A total of 48 weaned castrated male crossbred pigs, initial body weight 7.54±0.97 kg, and age about 4 wks, were used in this experiment. The piglets were randomly allocated into three iso-nitrogenous diet groups that were fed either a control diet, a diet with 15% RDP, or a diet with 30% RDP for a total of 35 days. Chromium oxide was used for apparent digestibility measurements. On d 14 and d 35, half of the piglets were randomly selected for hemato-biochemical and gut microbiota evaluations. RESULTS: Increasing inclusion levels of RDP tended to linearly increase (p≤0.07) average daily gain on d 14 and d 35, and decreased (p = 0.08) feed conversion ratio on d 35. Empty stomach weight increased (p = 0.03) on d 35 while digestibility of diet components decreased. Serum globulin concentration decreased on d 14 (p = 0.003) and red blood cell count tended to decrease (p = 0.06) on d 35, parallel to increase RDP levels. Gene amplicon profiling of 16S rRNA revealed that the colonic microbiota composition of weaned pigs changed by inclusion of RDP over the period. On d 14, decreased proportions of Lachnospiraceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, and Bacteroidales_ge, and increased proportions of Prevotellaceae_ge, Prevotella_2, and Prevotella_9 were found with inclusion of RDP, whereas opposite effect was found on d 35. Additionally, the proportion of Lachnospiraceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, and Bacteroidales_ge in RDP diets decreased over periods in control diet but increased largely in diet with 30% RDP. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that RDP in a favorable way modulate gastrointestinal microbiota composition and improve piglet performance despite a negative impact on digestibility of lipids and gross energy.

In vitro approach to evaluate the fermentation pattern of inulin-rich food in obese individuals.

Alterations of the gut microbiome have been associated with obesity and metabolic disorders. The gut microbiota can be influenced by the intake of dietary fibres with prebiotic properties, such as inulin-type fructans. The present study tested the hypothesis that obese individuals subjected for 12 weeks to an inulin-enriched v. inulin-poor diet have differential faecal fermentation patterns. The fermentation of cellulose and inulin hydrolysates of six different inulin-rich and inulin-poor vegetables of both groups was analysed in vitro on faecal inocula. The results showed that the microbiota from obese patients who received a fructan-rich diet for 3 weeks produces more gas and total SCFA compared with the microbiota taken from the same individuals before the treatment. Obese individuals fed with a low-fructan diet produce less gas and less SCFA compared with the treated group. The present study highlighted profound changes in microbiota fermentation capacity obtained by prebiotic intervention in obese individuals, which favours the production of specific bioactive metabolites.

Assessment of Spoilage Bacterial Communities in Food Wrap and Modified Atmospheres-Packed Minced Pork Meat Samples by 16S rDNA Metagenetic Analysis.

Although several studies have focused on the dynamics of bacterial food community, little is known about the variability of batch production and microbial changes that occur during storage. The aim of the study was to characterize the microbial spoilage community of minced pork meat samples, among different food production and storage, using both 16S rRNA gene sequencing and classical microbiology. Three batches of samples were obtained from four local Belgian facilities (A-D) and stored until shelf life under food wrap (FW) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP, CO2 30%/O2 70%), at constant and dynamic temperature. Analysis of 288 samples were performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in combination with counts of psychrotrophic and lactic acid bacteria at 22°C. At the first day of storage, different psychrotrophic counts were observed between the four food companies (Kruskal-Wallist test, p-value < 0.05). Results shown that lowest microbial counts were observed at the first day for industries D and A (4.2 ± 0.4 and 5.6 ± 0.1 log CFU/g, respectively), whereas industries B and C showed the highest results (7.5 ± 0.4 and 7.2 ± 0.4 log CFU/g). At the end of the shelf life, psychrotrophic counts for all food companies was over 7.0 log CFU/g. With metagenetics, 48 OTUs were assigned. At the first day, the genus Photobacterium (86.7 and 19.9% for food industries A and C, respectively) and Pseudomonas (38.7 and 25.7% for food companies B and D, respectively) were dominant. During the storage, a total of 12 dominant genera (>5% in relative abundance) were identified in MAP and 7 in FW. Pseudomonas was more present in FW and this genus was potentially replaced by Brochothrix in MAP (two-sided Welch's t-test, p-value < 0.05). Also, a high Bray-Curtis dissimilarity in genus relative abundance was observed between food companies and batches. Although the bacteria consistently dominated the microbiota in our samples are known, results indicated that bacterial diversity needs to be addressed on the level of food companies, batches variation and food storage conditions. Present data illustrate that the combined approach provides complementary results on microbial dynamics in minced pork meat samples, considering batches and packaging variations.

Ear canal microbiota - a comparison between healthy dogs and atopic dogs without clinical signs of otitis externa.

BACKGROUND: The canine skin microbiota has been evaluated using relatively new microbiological techniques; studies have shown a difference in the composition of bacterial populations between healthy dogs and those with canine atopic dermatitis (cAD). However, little has been reported concerning the ear canal microbiota despite the fact that otitis externa is a common problem in dogs with cAD. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: The study evaluated the ear canal microbiota of healthy dogs and atopic dogs without clinical signs of otitis. ANIMALS: Nine healthy privately owned dogs and 11 dogs with a diagnosis of cAD. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ear swabs from the two groups were used for global bacterial DNA extraction. V1-V3 hypervariable 16S rDNA amplicon libraries were prepared for each sample and sequenced with MiSeq Illumina sequence (V3 kit). Taxonomical assignment and clustering were performed with Mothur using SILVA database. RESULTS: The ear canal microbiota showed changes in diversity similar to those reported for canine skin and seemed to be stable during the period of the study (28 days). Evidence of dysbiosis was observed in the atopic dogs, with increased abundance of Staphylococcus spp. and Ralstonia spp. (P < 0.05). Escherichia spp. also were found to be more abundant in healthy dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: This study demonstrated a shift in bacterial populations between allergic and healthy dogs. The observed results in the ear canal are similar to those reported on the skin and could explain the propensity of allergic dogs to develop bacterial otitis.