Small animal Review

Antimicrobial stewardship promotes appropriate use of antimicrobials via interventions that assess and improve their use through appropriate selection. The aim is to optimise clinical outcomes, minimise adverse effects and limit the development of antimicrobial resistance.

In veterinary medicine there is concern over increased rates of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) and Escherichia coli producing extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). Other multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens of concern include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus spp., Enterococcus spp., meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), carbapenemase-producing E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Widespread use of the critically important antibiotics (β-lactamase–resistant penicillins, third generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones) increases the likelihood of bacteria developing resistance to them, including MRSA, MRSP and ESBL-producing E. coli. However, these antibacterials are important for the management of serious bacterial infections in animals, including complicated skin and urinary tract infections and life-threatening infections. Thus, these highly important antimicrobials have been the most used but the least preserved antibiotics.