Antimicrobial dispensing for common conditions in dogs and cats at a large veterinary practice network, 2023.

Understanding antimicrobial use is a core component of antimicrobial stewardship. This study aimed to assess antimicrobial dispensing for common clinical conditions in dogs and cats presented to veterinary clinics belonging to a large clinic network in the USA. Antimicrobials were prescribed for 831,017 patient visits, to 702,576 (85 %) dogs and 128,441 (15 %) cats. Cefpodoxime (n = 203,145, 29 %), amoxicillin-clavulanate (154,779, 22 %) and metronidazole (150,830, 21 %) were the most commonly dispensed antimicrobials in dogs, while cefovecin (55,579, 43 %) and amoxicillin-clavulanate (44,857, 35 %) predominated in cats. In dogs, drugs classified by the WHO MIA List as highest priority critically important (HPCIA) accounted for 39 % of drugs dispensed, while those classified as highly important (HIA) accounted for 61 %. In cats, HPCIA drugs accounted for 46 % of drugs dispensed while HIA drugs accounted for 54 %. Consistency of drug selection with selected treatment guidelines was 76 % (30,562/40,375) for dogs and 57 % (12,810/22,644) for cats. There were regional differences in drug selection patterns for all of the 10 most common diseases, for both dogs and cats. While no single metric or data source provides a full understanding of antimicrobial use, these data provide the foundation for assessment of antimicrobial use practices and provide insight and baseline data for development of interventions to improve antimicrobial use practices.