Antimicrobial Prescriptions for Dogs in the Capital of Spain.

Bárbara Gómez-Poveda,Miguel A Moreno

doi:10.3389/fvets.2018.00309

Bárbara Gómez-Poveda, Miguel A Moreno

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00309

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Abstract

Objective: To characterize antimicrobial prescription patterns for dogs in veterinary practices in Spain using the city of Madrid as a model.Design: Retrospective survey.Settings: Dogs attending veterinary practices in the city of Madrid in 2017 were enrolled.Subjects: Three hundred dogs from 30 veterinary practices randomly selected from a set of 388 practices grouped by zip code. The inclusion criterion for dogs was treatment with antibiotics within a few days of the data collection day.Results: For the 300 dogs enrolled, 374 treatments with antimicrobials were recorded, 62.8% (235/374) were veterinary medicinal products and 37.2% (139/374) human medicinal products. The main route of administration was oral (209/374; 55.9%) followed by parenteral (100/374; 26.7%) and topical (65/374; 17.4%). Sixty-five dogs (21.7%) received a perioperative antimicrobial treatment, mainly associated with female obstetrical surgery (19/65; 29%), while 78.3% (235/300) received a pharmaceutical treatment mainly for skin (72/235; 30.6%), respiratory (47/235; 20%), or digestive (41/235; 17.4%) diseases. The most frequently used antimicrobials were beta-lactams for oral (119/209) and parenteral (79/100) administration, especially the combination amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (83/209; oral), amoxicillin alone (42/100; parenteral), and aminoglycosides (32/65) for topical use. Diagnostic confirmation with culture was carried out on only 13 out of 235 dogs receiving therapeutic treatment and nine underwent an antimicrobial susceptibility test. In addition, cytology was performed in 15 dogs.Conclusions: The pattern of antimicrobial prescriptions for dogs in our study was quite similar to that previously described in several European countries, and encompassed the same two highly interconnected key features: major use of amoxicillin with clavulanic acid and a very low level of antimicrobial susceptibility testing before prescription. Consequently, we recommend that the measures for rationalizing antimicrobial prescription for dogs in Spain should follow those implemented in other countries, especially confirming the diagnosis and promoting the use of hygiene measures by owners.

Highlights

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the leading public health risks and antimicrobial usage one of its key drivers, both in humans and animals.Antimicrobial resistance in animal bacteria is of great concern, especially if resistant bacteria can be spread to humans
We contacted 50 veterinary practices to recruit the 30 practices who eventually agreed to participate in this survey
The 30 practices included in the study belonged to 29 of the 30 zip codes randomly selected in the original sampling

Summary

Introduction

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the leading public health risks and antimicrobial usage one of its key drivers, both in humans and animals.Antimicrobial resistance in animal bacteria (zoonotic, pathogenic for animals or commensal) is of great concern, especially if resistant bacteria can be spread to humans. Foodborne transmission is the most frequently studied route, but some authors have raised awareness about the increasing importance of direct contact transmission with pets (1, 2) (for veterinary surgeons and owners, especially children) and food animals (for workers, veterinary surgeons, etc.). Due to high public health concern, there are an increasing number of guidelines for prudent or responsible use of antimicrobials Factors influencing antibiotic prescribing habits of veterinary surgeons are not universal (3), those for veterinary surgeons of companion and food animals are quite similar. They include self-training, literature reviews, official reports, and commercial information (3)

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