Relative humidity, precipitation, and outpatient visits for clinically diagnosed fungal otitis externa: evidence from a single-center time-series study in Wuxi, eastern China

Background Fungal otitis externa is generally regarded as more common in warm and humid environments, yet long-term daily time-series evidence on short-term associations with meteorological conditions remains limited. Objective To examine short-term associations between daily meteorological factors and outpatient visits for clinically diagnosed fungal otitis externa, with particular attention to non-linear and lagged patterns. Methods This single-center retrospective time-series study used outpa