Respiratory tract disease can be associated with primary or secondary bacterial infections in dogs and cats and is a common reason for use and potential misuse, improper use, and overuse of antimicrobials. There is a lack of comprehensive treatment guidelines such as those that are available for human medicine. Accordingly, the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases convened a Working Group of clinical microbiologists, pharmacologists, and internists to share experiences, examine scientific data, review clinical trials, and develop these guidelines to assist veterinarians in making antimicrobial treatment choices for use in the management of bacterial respiratory diseases in dogs and cats.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a common condition for which patients seek medical advice in the outpatient setting and where antimicrobial agents are prescribed empirically-often based on therapeutic guideline recommendations. Antimicrobial resistance impacts on therapeutic choices as resistance is associated with clinical failure which in turn may impact morbidity and mortality. The Formal for Rational Antimicrobial Therapy (FRAT) considers etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility to generate a factor to predict the likely activity of an antimicrobial agent in CAP or any other infection for which etiology and susceptibility data can be considered. In considering the FRAT formula in CAP, amoxicillin and macrolides offer a predictability of 52.6-78.3% whereas for trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole the predictability was 45.2% as compared to 90.1% for tetracyclines/doxycycline and 98.2% for levofloxacin (and moxifloxacin). The FRAT formula clearly differentiates antimicrobial agents based on spectrum of activity and impact of antimicrobial resistance and provides yet another factor for consideration in the selection of an antimicrobial agent for treatment of CAP.

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Community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) exert a growing clinical and financial burden on healthcare systems and employers. In addition, antimicrobial resistance among pathogens, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, has compromised the use of commonly prescribed antimicrobial compounds. Newer fluoroquinolones have been developed to meet these emerging demands. Gemifloxacin is a potent, dual-acting fluoroquinolone with excellent activity against S. pneumoniae (MIC(90)0.03-0.06 microg/ml) including those strains demonstrating resistance to other classes of antibiotics. Gemifloxacin demonstrated excellent clinical success in community-acquired lower respiratory infections, has an acceptable safety profile, and is a cost-effective alternative in the management of LRTIs including those caused by resistant pathogens.