Otitis externa
diseaseOn this page
Also known as external Ear infectioninfectious otitis externaouter Ear infectionswimmer's Ear
Summary
Otitis externa (MONDO:0004795) is a disease with 11 GWAS associations across 17 studies and 11 clinical trials. Top therapeutic interventions include ciprofloxacin, diclofenac sodium, and hydrocortisone. A subtype of external ear disorder — broader associated-gene and molecular evidence is on the parent page (see Disease family below).
At a glance
- GWAS associations: 11
- Clinical trials: 11
Clinical features
No curated clinical features (Orphanet) for this disease.
Identifiers
Disease identifiers
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Canonical name | otitis externa |
| Mondo ID | MONDO:0004795 |
| EFO | EFO:0009560 |
| MeSH | D010032 |
| DOID | DOID:9463 |
| ICD-10-CM | H60, H60.33 |
| ICD-11 | 1303990434 |
| NCIT | C3299, C79601 |
| SNOMED CT | 3135009 |
| UMLS | C0029878 |
| MedGen | 10505 |
| Is cancer (heuristic) | no |
Also known as: external Ear infection · infectious otitis externa · otitis externa · outer Ear infection · swimmer’s Ear · swimmer’s ear
Data availability: 11 GWAS associations (17 studies).
Disease family
This is a subtype of external ear disorder. Genetic, therapeutic, and trial evidence is largely curated at the broader-term level — see the parent page for the associated-gene cohort and molecular evidence.
Classification path: disease › human disease › disease by body system or component › auditory system disorder › external ear disorder › otitis externa
Related subtypes (2): cholesteatoma of external ear, external ear neoplasm
Subtypes (4): otomycosis, malignant otitis externa, acute otitis externa, perichondritis of auricle
Genetics & variants
GWAS landscape
11 GWAS associations across 17 studies. Top hits map to 2 distinct genes (as reported by GWAS).
Top associations by p-value
| rsID | p-value | Gene | Risk allele | Odds ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| chr10:6052734 | 6e-21 | T | 0.16 | |
| chr6:31358155 | 2e-20 | A | 0.1 | |
| rs12722522 | 1e-14 | IL2RA | G | 0.14 |
| rs143345665 | 8e-09 | SPATA17 | ? | |
| chr11:65461752 | 9e-09 | ACCTATATATAT | 0.08 | |
| chr10:86367197 | 2e-08 | A | 1.27 | |
| chr7:3290305 | 2e-08 | G | 1.88 | |
| chrX:136716864 | 2e-08 | A | 0.86 | |
| chr8:27540203 | 3e-08 | G | 2.7 | |
| chr8:38225664 | 4e-08 | T | 2.66 |
Top studies (by case count)
| Study | Lead author | Year | Cases | Controls | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCST90473470 | UK Biobank Whole-Genome Sequencing Consortium | 2025 | 20,507 | 437,933 | Whole-genome sequencing of 490,640 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90667862 | UK Biobank Whole-Genome Sequencing Consortium | 2025 | 20,507 | 437,933 | Whole-genome sequencing of 490,640 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90475900 | Verma A | 2024 | 15,011 | 415,926 | Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program. |
| GCST90079929 | Backman JD | 2021 | 10,706 | 361,578 | Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90083915 | Backman JD | 2021 | 10,706 | 361,578 | Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants. |
| GCST90477793 | Verma A | 2024 | 2,777 | 114,338 | Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program. |
| GCST90480101 | Verma A | 2024 | 2,777 | 114,338 | Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program. |
| GCST90477792 | Verma A | 2024 | 2,077 | 54,899 | Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program. |
| GCST90651431 | Liu TY | 2025 | 1,694 | 230,378 | Diversity and longitudinal records: Genetic architecture of disease associations and polygenic risk in the Taiwanese Han population. |
| GCST90079928 | Backman JD | 2021 | 1,675 | 382,290 | Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants. |
Variant details and genetic-evidence tiers
Tier distribution (top 50 variants)
| Tier | Variants |
|---|---|
| Tier 1: coding | 0 |
| Tier 2: splice/UTR | 0 |
| Tier 3: regulatory | 0 |
| Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | 10 |
MAF distribution
| Bucket | Variants |
|---|---|
| common (>=0.05) | 1 |
| low_freq (0.01-0.05) | 0 |
| rare (<0.01) | 0 |
| unknown | 9 |
Functional consequences
| Consequence | Count |
|---|---|
| unknown | 8 |
| intron_variant | 2 |
Top variants
| rsID | Chr | Pos | Alleles | MAF | Consequence | Gene | p-value | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chr10:6052734 | 6e-21 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| chr6:31358155 | 2e-20 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| rs12722522 | 10 | 6036590 | G>A | 0.088 | intron_variant | IL2RA | 1e-14 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
| rs143345665 | 1 | 217681624 | C>T | intron_variant | SPATA17 | 8e-09 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | |
| chr11:65461752 | 9e-09 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| chr10:86367197 | 2e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| chr7:3290305 | 2e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| chrX:136716864 | 2e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| chr8:27540203 | 3e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic | ||||||
| chr8:38225664 | 4e-08 | Tier 4: intronic/intergenic |
Genes & proteins
No associated-gene cohort resolved for this disease. Atlas builds the molecular and therapeutic sections — associated genes, protein families, druggability, pathways, interactions, and drug associations — by aggregating over a disease’s associated genes (resolved via GWAS / GenCC / ClinVar / CIViC), and none resolved here. This is expected for antibody-mediated, autoimmune, or otherwise non-gene-defined conditions; the curated evidence for this disease is its clinical features, GWAS susceptibility, and clinical trials (above).
Function
No pathway enrichment — requires an associated-gene cohort.
Therapeutics
Drugs indicated for this disease
4 approved, 1 in late-stage (phase 3) trials. Disease-direct ChEMBL indications, not inferred from the associated-gene cohort below.
| Drug | Development status |
|---|---|
| Benzyl Alcohol | Approved (phase 4) |
| Ciprofloxacin | Approved (phase 4) |
| Hydrocortisone | Approved (phase 4) |
| Ofloxacin | Approved (phase 4) |
| Dexamethasone | Phase 3 (in late-stage trials) |
Clinical trials & evidence
Clinical trials
Clinical trials: 11.
Phase distribution (across all retrieved trials)
| Phase | Trials |
|---|---|
| PHASE2 | 4 |
| PHASE3 | 3 |
| Not specified | 3 |
| PHASE1/PHASE2 | 1 |
Top trials by phase / activity
| NCT | Phase | Status | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCT00980876 | PHASE3 | COMPLETED | A Comparative Study Between Two Formulations of the Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride + Hydrocortisone Otic Suspension |
| NCT01910155 | PHASE3 | TERMINATED | A Bioequivalence Study of Two Ciprofloxacin/Dexamethasone Formulations in Patients With Otitis Externa |
| NCT02801370 | PHASE3 | COMPLETED | Phase 3 Study of OTO-201 in Acute Otitis Externa |
| NCT00523120 | PHASE2 | TERMINATED | Topical Voltaren in Otitis Externa |
| NCT00872209 | PHASE1/PHASE2 | COMPLETED | Safety and Efficacy Study of Foam Otic Cipro Compared to a Standard Solution ( Ciloxan - Alcon Labs ) to Treat Acute Otitis Externa |
| NCT01157819 | PHASE2 | COMPLETED | Safety and Efficacy of Once-Daily Dosing of FoamOtic Cipro Compared to Twice-Daily Dosing of Ciloxan Ear Drops in Patients With Acute External Otitis |
| NCT01359098 | PHASE2 | COMPLETED | Efficacy and Safety of Once-Daily Ciprodexa Otic Foam Compared to Twice-daily Ciprodex Ear Drops in Acute Otitis Externa |
| NCT02511561 | PHASE2 | COMPLETED | OTO-201 for the Treatment of Otitis Externa |
| NCT07525505 | Not specified | RECRUITING | Nigella Sativa Oil for Eczematous Otitis Externa |
| NCT02558738 | Not specified | COMPLETED | Non Interventional Clinical Investigation of Ectoin Ear Spray in Skin Treatment of Outer Ear Canal Irritations |
| NCT05370209 | Not specified | TERMINATED | Performance and Safety of Otinova® Ear Spray |
Drugs tested across these trials (top 30)
| Molecule | Max phase | Trials referencing |
|---|---|---|
| CIPROFLOXACIN | 4 | 5 |
| DICLOFENAC SODIUM | 4 | 1 |
| HYDROCORTISONE | 4 | 1 |
Related Atlas pages
- Drugs: Ciprofloxacin, Diclofenac, Hydrocortisone