Virbac has announced the launch of Cortotic, a corticosteroid-only treatment for the clinical signs associated with acute erythroceruminous canine otitis externa without an antimicrobial (Cortotic Summary of Product Characteristics; Rigaut et al., 2023).
The World Health Organization has declared that antimicrobial resistance is one of the top global public health threats of our time. A coordinated, collaborative approach in the UK has led to a reduction in veterinary antibiotic use, but there is still more that we can do. Otitis externa is the most frequently recorded disorder seen in primary care veterinary practice, with a reported prevalence of 10.2 percent (O’Neill et al., 2014). It is therefore an area of significant potential to decrease antimicrobial use as many products already on the market are a combination of anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibiotic.
Cortotic contains Hydrocortisone Aceponate (HCA) and treats the clinical signs associated with acute erythroceruminous otitis externa (ECOE) even where microbial overgrowth is present by addressing the primary factor – inflammation (Cortotic Summary of Product Characteristics).
In a clinical field study, published in Veterinary Dermatology, Cortotic was shown to be as effective in treating acute otitis as a fixed-combination product containing a corticosteroid, an antibiotic and an antifungal as active ingredients, with an equivalent improvement of clinical and cytological scores (Rigaut et al., 2023). A secondary reduction of bacterial and yeast overgrowth was demonstrated and a concomitant treatment with an antimicrobial was unnecessary. The product was shown to provide rapid relief from clinical signs, pruritus and pain.
Hydrocortisone Aceponate (HCA) is a potent unique diester glucocorticosteroid which provides rapid relief of inflammation. The lipophilic nature of the HCA diester provides enhanced penetration into the skin, a reservoir effect and low plasma availability for high local activity with reduced systemic secondary effects (Cortotic Summary of Product Characteristics). (A secondary reduction of bacterial and yeast overgrowth was demonstrated and a concomitant treatment with an antimicrobial was unnecessary (Cortotic Summary of Product Characteristics; Rigaut et al., 2023).)
“With Cortotic we’re excited to offer clinicians the ability to reduce antimicrobial usage when treating otitis externa in dogs, while offering the same efficacy as a fixed-combination product,” said Chris Newark, product manager at Virbac. “The product’s easy administration also makes it an attractive choice for pet owners with 94 percent of owners stating that they would choose to use Cortotic again,” according to a pet-owners satisfaction of use questionnaire, conducted after the clinical field efficacy study.
Cortotic is presented in an easy to use gentle ear spray device with atraumatic cannula, which delivers a fine mist spray for even application. Dosing is simple and straightforward for pet owners: two pumps per application, whatever the dog’s size, just once per day for 7 to 14 days.
For more information on Cortotic, or any of the other products in the Virbac otics range, please speak to your Virbac Territory Manager.
