Objectives
To describe therapeutic antibiotic use patterns in dogs at a small animal teaching hospital.
Methods
A retrospective case analysis of randomly sampled antibiotic prescriptions in dogs from May 20, 2008 – May 20, 2009, deemed to be for therapeutic use, was performed. Records were reviewed to determine if there was documentation of confirmed, suspected or no evidence of infection. The five most frequently prescribed antibiotics were identified and analyzed for their distribution in these categories.
Results
In 17% of therapeutic antibiotic prescriptions there was confirmed infection, in 45% suspected infection, and in 38% there was no documented evidence of infection. Amoxicillin-clavulanate was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic, followed by cefazolin/cephalexin, enrofloxacin, ampicillin/amoxicillin and doxycycline. Doxycycline was the most frequently prescribed with no documented evidence of infection, and amoxicillin-clavulanate was the most frequently prescribed with either confirmed or suspected evidence of infection.
Discussion
Clinicians use a variety of tools when deciding whether or not to prescribe an antibiotic and which antibiotic to use. As in human medicine, there is likely overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians should engage in discussions regarding clinically applicable guidelines for appropriate antibiotic use.
Background
Carbapenems are a class of antimicrobials reserved for resistant infections or systemically ill people, yet the extent and context in which they are prescribed in the small animals is understudied.
Hypothesis/Objective
To describe cases in dogs and cats treated with carbapenems to establish baseline data regarding the types of infections, outcomes, and resistance profiles of target infections. We hypothesize that prescribing practices for carbapenems at a veterinary tertiary care hospital would not comply with the recommended use guidelines in human medicine.
Methods
Retrospective study of veterinary medical records from all dogs and cats prescribed carbapenems between May 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017.
Results
A total of 81 infections (71 in dogs and 10 in cats) representing 68 animals (58 dogs and 10 cats) involving carbapenem use were identified. Cultures were performed in 65/81 (80%) infections, and antimicrobial use was de‐escalated or discontinued in 10/81 (12%) infections. The average duration of treatment was 27.5 days and ranged from 1 to 196 days. Resistance to more than 3 antimicrobial classes was present in 57/115 (50%) isolates. Resistance to carbapenems was found in 2/64 (3%) of the bacterial isolates with reported carbapenem susceptibility.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
The majority of carbapenem use at a veterinary tertiary care hospital was prescribed in conjunction with culture and sensitivity determination, with de‐escalation performed in a minority of cases, and treatment durations longer than typically recommended in human medicine.
Background
The COVID‐19 pandemic has presented veterinary emergency hospitals with unique challenges. Rapid online surveys represent an efficient way of collating responses to rapidly shifting circumstances.
Methods
Fifty, 24‐h small animal emergency veterinary hospital representatives were recruited to participate in weekly surveys in April 2020 to catalog changes due to COVID‐19 pandemic.
Key findings
The majority of emergency veterinary hospitals surveyed reported significant changes to day‐to‐day operations as a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Significance
Reporting of weekly survey results provides useful information on how emergency veterinary hospitals with similar challenges are responding to the COVID‐19 pandemic.
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