A new study using data from the Morris Animal Foundation’s Golden Retriever Lifetime Study describes the preferences for antimicrobial treatments of veterinarians caring for study participants. The paper, published in the American Journal of Veterinary Researchprovides further insights into prevailing antimicrobial prescribing patterns in the United States and the impact of these patterns on the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.
“What makes our findings unique is that similar work includes data from only a single veterinary clinic,” said Dr. Julia Labadie, principal investigator of the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study and one of the paper’s authors. “Using study data from across the United States, we examined differences in regional treatment patterns and gained insight into the factors that influence these decisions, such as disease prevalence and veterinarian preferences.”
The researchers analyzed data collected on golden retrievers participating in the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. The study is the most extensive prospective study ever conducted in veterinary medicine, collecting information on more than 3,000 golden retrievers over the course of their lives.
The study provided the authors with the opportunity to find out which antibiotics are used in dogs for various disease states. The authors used data collected over 6 years to identify the antibiotics most commonly used by veterinarians for various diseases in dogs. The main objectives were to examine the most commonly used classes of antibiotics and to assess the prevalence of infectious diseases among the participants. The results therefore showed which antibiotics veterinarians use most often for the most common diseases.
As expected, otitis externa was the most commonly treated condition with antibiotics, followed by diarrhea/gastritis, hot spots, cystitis, and tracheobronchitis/cough. A variety of antibiotics were used. The team examined regional antibiotic use and found that antibiotics were most commonly prescribed for dogs in the South, followed by the Midwest, Northeast, Mountain, and Pacific regions.
The researchers concluded that veterinarians’ treatment practices for similar conditions varied within geographic regions, suggesting that more efforts are needed to prevent disease in Golden Retrievers. Preventive measures can reduce overall antibiotic use and promote effective antibiotic stewardship to combat further antibiotic resistance.
“These findings underscore the importance of educating consumers about preventive medicine and early detection,” Labadie added. “When owners know whether their pet is susceptible to certain diseases, they can be more proactive and detect problems earlier, requiring fewer interventions to treat them, which can lead to fewer antibiotic prescriptions. And that can help us in our fight against the threat of antimicrobial resistance.”
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