Antimicrobial Stewardship Made Practical

Course overview

Companion animal veterinarians are increasingly confronted with patients suffering from antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections. AMR is a problem across health sectors, though the focus has largely been on human and agricultural animals. Cats and dogs share our environments, and sometimes our ice cream cones, and we prescribe the same antibiotic drug classes as those used in human health. Recently, more attention is being payed to this oft ignored population in regards to AMR. Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) is the actions that prescribers take to improve patient outcomes while minimizing unintended consequences of antibiotic use, such as drug toxicity and the development of AMR. The American Veterinary Medical Association has outlined five core concepts of AS in veterinary medicine.1 The AVMA has charged veterinarians, in service to our patients the community, to evaluate our antibiotic use practices and commit to use antibiotics judiciously. In human outpatient practice, it is estimated that at least 30% of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary.2 It has been postulated that inappropriate and over-prescribing in small animal medicine is at least as prevalent.3 In fact, one publication reports that 40% of dogs receiving an antibiotic prescription in a single hospital had no clinical evidence of infection.4 Often too veterinarians empirically prescribed antibiotics with a broader than needed antimicrobial spectrum or those of critical importance to human medicine. This means that there is much low hanging fruit and easy opportunities to take small steps towards AS in our practices. The need for enhanced antibiotic stewardship efforts in small animal medicine is clear to those of us who treat dogs and cats. The question for many is how? This webinar will provide an overview of AMR and AS in companion animals. It will offer simple steps and accessible tools so that every veterinary practice can start small with AS and make meaning change.