Antimicrobial Prescribing Practices in Dogs and Cats by Colombian Veterinarians in the City of Medellin

Abstract

This study surveyed the prescribing behavior of Colombian companion animal veterinarians and compared the responses to the current guidelines of the International Society for Companion Animals on Infectious Diseases (ISCAID). A convenience sample of 100 primary-care veterinary practitioners was selected from the city of Medellin. A questionnaire was designed to present hypothetical clinical scenarios regarding prescription choices for systemic antimicrobials. The numbers of veterinarians empirically prescribing a course of systemic antimicrobials for each scenario were—perioperative elective surgeries (86%), superficial pyoderma (90%), lower urinary tract disease (52%), acute hemorrhagic diarrhea (50%), and kennel cough (46%). For urinary tract disease, cultures and susceptibility testing were only performed by half of the respondents, suggesting lower diagnostic standards. In superficial pyoderma cases, cytology was performed in the following percent of cases—0% (24), 20% (30), 40% (17), 60% (11), 80% (8), and 100% (10). Antimicrobials were over-prescribed relative to emerging standard for elective surgeries (86%), kennel cough (46%), and acute hemorrhagic diarrhea (50%). Critically important antimicrobials, such as fluoroquinolones, were applied commonly for superficial pyoderma (18%), kennel cough (12%), and lower urinary tract disease in dogs (20%) and cats (26%). In conclusion, antimicrobial prescribing behavior was inconsistent with current guidelines, and antimicrobial use could be improved by appropriate diagnostic steps allowing choice of an optimal antimicrobial drug. Overall, we documented the widespread use of antimicrobials for the treatment of these four common disease conditions.

A Spanish Survey on the Perioperative use of Antimicrobials in Small Animals

“…A judicious approach, considering patient risk, surgical factors and local antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, is crucial. Although research studies on the use of antibiotics in small animals have been realized [31,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48], there is limited research specifically focused on perioperative antibiotic use in small animals, particularly in Spain [28,29,49].…”

“…Some surveys have previously evaluated perioperative antimicrobial use in the veterinary medicine [28][29][30]. A survey performed in the United Kingdom described the use of antimicrobials in clean surgery in up to 25% of small (<1 cm) lumpectomies and 32% of prescrotal castrations [29].…”

“…Additionally, 66% of respondents reported administering antimicrobials before surgery [29]. A Colombian survey about antimicrobial use in different clinical contexts reported perioperative antimicrobial use in elective ovariohysterectomies and castrations by up to 86% of participants [28]. One retrospective study in horses undergoing arthroscopic surgery found that perioperative antimicrobial use routinely ignored standard recommendations for perioperative prophylaxis [30].…”

Uji Sensitivitas Bakteri Klebsiella spp. yang Diisolasi dari Anjing Kintamani Diare Terhadap Antibiotika

“…Toksin mengaktifkan guanylate cyclase dari sel epitel usus secara abnormal yang menyebabkan hipersekresi cairan ke dalam lumen sehingga terjadi diare (Samanta and Bandyopadhyay, 2020) (Gómez-Beltrán et al, 2021;German et al, 2010;Anholt et al, 2014).…”

Isolation of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains producing extended spectrum β-lactamases from dog urine of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley Antioquia-Colombia

“…In Colombia, in the clinical practice in companion animals the use of antibiotics that are also used in human medicine is frequent (Cabrera García 2010), mainly β-lactams (Astaiza Martínez et al 2016;Gutiérrez et al 2002). In addition, it is common in daily practice the recognition of pathologies based on presumptive diagnoses and the scarce use of diagnostic aids, such as culture with antibiogram, resulting in the establishment of empirical antibiotic therapies is common in the daily practice (Gómez Beltrán et al 2021;Sánchez et al 2015).…”